Gothamist: Starbucks Reveals Full List of 600 Coffee Shop Closings

lkolar

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:48:17 -0500

The location closing in Bay Ridge is my local shop, and the place where I have a standing weekly meeting with nearly 10 other knitters. It's a nice location, different from the other Starbucks in Bay Ridge in that it's newer, has nice (non-plastic) furniture and a slightly more laid-back feel. I seems they do a pretty steady business, but there are at least 3 other Starbucks within a 10 block radius. The "local" coffee shop across the street is considerably more expensive, and both the products and the service are sub-par. They also don't have the wi-fi option, and aren't always hospitable to larger groups. I'm not the biggest fan of Starbucks' domination of the coffee market, but as their competition failed to prove itself to be a better option, I have no choice but to mourn this loss.

austinchu

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:41:41 -0500

When I read about Starbucks closing down stores today, I wasn't the least bit afraid of them filing for bankruptcy or closing down forever. I've been following the whole Starbucks ordeal on savvywallet.com. Even with the free iced coffee on Wednesday promotion, introduction of their fruity smoothies, and free wifi with gift card registrations. The only thing I'm worried about is not enough hotspots for wifi. There are several stores around my area that are closing down, and that's what I'm concerned about. I enjoy walking around the streets, plop down and always be able to find a signal because I know a Starbucks is near. The glory days are over.

abcohen

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:06:53 -0500

i think we need more starbucks - like on the street corners - mobile units should be put out on the streets like ice cream trucks :)

AshB

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:50:30 -0500

Hey, thats my photo! You got the credit wrong though, its doyoulikehiphop not peeperita.

thebazilist

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:27:51 -0500

@Anna Merkin: Someone did this. Maybe I saw it on Lifehacker? But it was for rumored closings -- maybe now they'll update it with the official list.

lucyvanpelt

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:01:43 -0500

You missed one of the other Queens locations on the list: Douglaston Plaza 242-02 61st Ave.

mdowning

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:29:04 -0500

i love how starbucks made up a city name called "manhattan." if some cubicle ape from starbucks reads this, "manhattan" is a borough, "new york" is a city. peter @2, you're entirely correct.

Anna_Merkin

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:27:46 -0500

I'd love to see a mashup of Google maps and the list of locations closing.

NannyState

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:02:13 -0500

I've read that the big issue was real estate, that they overpaid for some locations, saddling the company with costly leases at a time when those trendlines are going to start dropping. Although in places like Vegas, I never see a lot of coffee drinking: drinking yes, but not coffee.

Steven

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:48:43 -0500

Meanwhile, it's fashionable to love Apple, ignore the problems that its products have, its wasteful packaging, etc. Take the new iphone. It's faster, yes, but that's more of a correction to a design flaw of the original than an upgrade. Same with the headphone jack. The black or white plastic back is a stepback in design from the original, not an improvement. The lower price isn't really lower, the difference is just distributed over higher monthly payments. But people still camped out overnight to get one. Go figure. The biggest problem is once again apple doesn't make it easy for the customer to change the battery once it doesn't recharge anymore.

natis

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:38:20 -0500

That specific one in Bay Ridge I just recently found after having lunch at Sofia's. The front of the store is a bit more subtle than most Starbucks and is by far one of the cleanest I've seen. It's a shame because I was going to start using that one as opposed to the other one on Third that is always messy and has this huge, unused space.

TK

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:32:05 -0500

10 closures in NYC and an average of 20 employees per store for a total of about 200 people. If the other 225 SBUX in the city pick up ONE employee there wont be much job loss will there? It sucks worse for those in Vegas, Florida and Cali where you can actually live on a SBUX salary and job losses are staring to mount in other industries. Just goes to show how wealthy, spoiled and plump we are here.

RedSignals

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:31:06 -0500

That's backup Starbucks (46 & Fifth) and second backup Starbucks (44 & Madison)! Primary Starbucks (42nd & Madison) is going to be hell now — it's the smallest of the three.

Alex

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:27:43 -0500

Whoa, check out the list and look for nevada. A ton of Vegas locations are closing. It looks like starbucks closures and where the mortgage crisis has hit the worst correlate.

zodak

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:23:32 -0500

i'm glad there are less starbucks but it sucks that these people are now jobless.

REALITY CHECK

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:18:47 -0500

#8 eyekantspel, Wal-Mart has a well-documented history of exploitive labor abuses. The Apple Store doesn't. (Look it up on Google). I think you're talking about something else.

eyekantspel

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:12:11 -0500

It's fashionable to put this company down but it's entirely unfair. that's true. Walmart too. Meanwhile, it's fashionable to love Apple, ignore the problems that its products have, its wasteful packaging, etc. Take the new iphone. It's faster, yes, but that's more of a correction to a design flaw of the original than an upgrade. Same with the headphone jack. The black or white plastic back is a stepback in design from the original, not an improvement. The lower price isn't really lower, the difference is just distributed over higher monthly payments. But people still camped out overnight to get one. Go figure.

AngelaBK

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:37 -0500

Interesting kind of situation these shut downs causes, or maybe implies. It looks like the employees have become really attached to their own stores and Starbucks as an organization, which I suppose is what Starbucks was going for in projecting itself as the good guys in the corporate world. Turns out they're just as corporate as any other corporation and their employees have taken a hit, and on top of it feel an emotional loss in addition to the loss of employment. So what's better off? A corporation not making any bones about it being a corporation and only projecting itself as a business? Or this personal connection corporate world that makes its workers more attached to the company than the time old idea of the American corporate employee relationship as strictly business (cause it ain't personal, right?)

eyekantspel

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:59:37 -0500

Are the people who work in the city stores able to just move to a different store? If not that's pretty shitty by Starbucks. They are closing stores. Of course a reduction in force goes with that. How is that shitty by them? If Starbucks was smart, they'd make an effort to retain the best employees at the closing locations and get rid of the lousy employees at the locations that are staying open.

JRod5417

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:56:30 -0500

I'm surprised about the Bay Ridge location closing considering 84th Street and 3rd Ave are high traffic locations. I guess people could always go to the two other locations on 3rd Ave.

REALITY CHECK

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:53:51 -0500

Whenever I'm walking through Astor Place, I am reminded of Lewis Black's take on Starbucks: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z9iMgSNrwv4

chris lee

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:48:56 -0500

It's fashionable to put this company down but it's entirely unfair.

Peter

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:40:59 -0500

"I'm wondering what traditions are being lost in the stores that are closing?" How does "nothing" sound?

TKaisen

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:37:20 -0500

Are the people who work in the city stores able to just move to a different store? If not that's pretty shitty by Starbucks.