Starbucks

[Jon27]

I started buying Member's Mark 100% Columbian whole beans from Sam's. It's really good! About $13 for 40oz.

[Joe Kimball]

Is anyone aware of any Starbucks location that look a little barren; i.e., no CD racks, coffee racks, otherwise limitations on displays and decor, etc? Short of a published list, I understand that this may indicate a foreshadowing of things to come.

Also, 12,000 employees equals an average of 20 employees per store. Does anyone know if each store employs this many workers, or more or less? That is to ask if the proportion of workers is equal to the stores closings; will employees at remaining stores be laid off in addition?

[flintysooner]

I think the CD's are mostly going away in any event.

The drive-thru stores have more people - on the order of 30 or 35 - I've been told.

I suspect there may be more closing and more layoffs. I've also heard the company is struggling to not cut employee benefits.

In part it may be that the entire "coffee culture" has reached the apogee of its cycle. There is lots of competition for product now with McDonald's and Dunkin and so on. The trick for Starbucks and all the other coffee houses for that matter will be to try and compete for the "culture" segment in my opinion.

[Joe Kimball]

I appreciate the information! It certainly doesn't look too cool.

[alan]

In part it may be that the entire "coffee culture" has reached the apogee of its cycle. There is lots of competition for product now with McDonald's and Dunkin and so on. The trick for Starbucks and all the other coffee houses for that matter will be to try and compete for the "culture" segment in my opinion.

I would certainly disagree. We meet people here in OKC everyday who are just now getting interested in the coffee culture. And we certainly meet a lot who have "cut their teeth" on starbucks and other "entry-level" products who are now looking for something better.

While I do believe fast-food and pre-packaged coffee drinks have reached market saturation, I am absolutely convinced that the number of consumers looking for an upscale specialty coffee drink continues to grow.

[solitude]

And we certainly meet a lot who have "cut their teeth" on starbucks and other "entry-level" products who are now looking for something better.

Entry-level......like tap water?.....then you move up to Ozarka?....then, if you really want to absorb the culture, you'll move up to Fiji?

No, seriously, I'm one of the odd ducks when it comes to coffee. I can taste the difference between something really cheap at the store, but then after that, to me, coffee is just....well....coffee.

[alan]

Entry-level......like tap water?.....then you move up to Ozarka?....then, if you really want to absorb the culture, you'll move up to Fiji?

No, seriously, I'm one of the odd ducks when it comes to coffee. I can taste the difference between something really cheap at the store, but then after that, to me, coffee is just....well....coffee.

well, believe it or not, there is a difference. And even for those who can't taste a difference there is the matter of where the product originates from. And service and atmosphere makes a difference also.

[bornhere]

It used to amuse me to go into a Starbuck's and ask for 'coffee.' The staff was always cool with it, but the people in line behind me would roll their eyes in disgust.

[flintysooner]

So 12 Oklahoma stores to be closed apparently.

Closings make mocha taste bittersweet

I walk into the office on most workday mornings clutching a cup of Starbucks coffee in my hand. When I round the corner that leads to the Business News desk, my friend Ed will look up and say, “oh, you’ve been to FOURbucks today.”
Yuk it up all you want, Ed.
But I enjoy every cup of 40-weight that the folks at the Starbucks store on Britton Road pour up for me first thing in the morning. And a “grande” —that’s a medium for folks like Ed — only costs me two bucks, thank you very much.
It was almost like the Britton Road Starbucks store was built for my convenience. Or maybe it’s more like a toll booth where I’m forced to drop $2 every day on the way into the office.
Anyway, I stopped by the Starbucks on Tuesday afternoon and ordered up a little pick-me-up for the long grind until quitting time. As I was waiting for the barista to top off my mocha with some whipped cream, I heard some disturbing news among the chatter between employees.
The Britton Road Starbucks, open less than a year, is closing in August. It’s one of 600 Starbucks coffee shops nationwide that the coffee giant is closing in a purge of unprofitable stores. The young people working behind the coffee bar at the Britton Road store told me that a dozen Oklahoma Starbucks have been marked for closing.
It was evident that the employees would mourn the demise of their store, even if they were offered employment at one of the remaining Oklahoma City area Starbucks shops.
“It’s sad; I’m going to cry,” said a young woman as she operated the espresso machine. “You guys are all really great to work with.”
The Starbucks media relations office in Seattle did not return my call Tuesday afternoon to confirm the Oklahoma closings and their locations. Starbucks operates 7,200 company-owned stores nationwide and another 4,000 or so licensed shops operated by retailers such as Target stores.
As it turns out, the closing of a dozen Oklahoma City area stores leaves plenty of options for Starbucks coffee addicts like myself.
It’s difficult to determine exactly how many stores the company operates in the metro, but an independent Web site called Starbucksevery where.net on Tuesday listed 29 company owned stores, plus another 12 that were licensed stores.
Still, the mocha tasted a little bittersweet as I pulled out of the Starbucks parking lot Tuesday knowing that the store’s days are numbered and dwindling fast.
I’m a regular, I told them, even if it’s usually just a quick pass through the drive-through.
“Everybody who comes here is a regular,” said the Starbucks employee who passed the mocha across the counter to me. “It’s like this is a store for regulars. It’s part of their routine.”

Jim Stafford: 475-3310, jstafford@oklahoman.com
BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN

[okyeah]

ah it sucks that the starbucks on Britton by the highway is closing. I liked going there to do work/study because it's much less busy than the starbucks in nichols hills. In other news, I drove by NW 36 & May last week, and the sign said that it opens July 8th.

[jbrown84]

12 out of 29 is fairly significant. Wait is the 29 for OKC or all of Oklahoma?

My predictions:

1. Britton & Broadway Ext.
2. May & Grand
3. Memorial & MacArthur
4. hmmmm


Interestingly, this is one of only six stores they list as confirmed

Closure Watch

[bwana_bob]

4 out of 7 Starbucks in Edmond will close....

Danforth & Santa Fe
15th & Santa Fe
Memorial & Bryant
33rd & Broadway (this one won't open - finish out hasn't even started on building)

[FritterGirl]

I heard from a Starbucks manager at Memorial and Penn (in large strip center next to Ultimate Electronics / PetSmart, etc.) that the following will close:

NW 122nd at Penn (S. of 122nd - the one they converted from the old Long John Silvers)

North Memorial at Quail Springs Parkway (west of "restaurant row" by the hotel area)

She said another on Memorial will also close. She's not sure if it is the MacArthur or Bryant store.

[jbkrems]

I also heard from a shift supervisor that these two will close in Edmond:

15th and Santa Fe

Danforth and Santa Fe

So, Bwana Bob, at least part of your predictions are correct.

[jbkrems]

And you can add May & Memorial. I confirmed from an insider it is closing as well.

[alan]

And you can add May & Memorial. I confirmed from an insider it is closing as well.

May & Memorial? In the Barnes & Noble? Or do you mean the store west of there? Or do you mean Penn & Memorial?

[OKCDrummer77]

I think someone else clarified that as the one west of May on Memorial, closer to Carrabba's and Cheeseburger in Paradise. That one hasn't been there very long, but that fact doesn't seem to help 122nd & Penn or Britton & Broadway, either.

[alan]

I think someone else clarified that as the one west of May on Memorial, closer to Carrabba's and Cheeseburger in Paradise. That one hasn't been there very long, but that fact doesn't seem to help 122nd & Penn or Britton & Broadway, either.

that makes sense.

Well, if everyone is correct, it looks like 4 stores that are in my vicinity will be closing. I hope those customers will come see us at Vintage Coffee and realize what they've been missing.

[jbkrems]

Jim,

The May & Memorial store is the store that is next to Nunu's Mediterranean about halfway between May & Portland/Lake Hefner Parkway. It is the aforementioned Quail Springs store.

The cafe inside Barnes & Noble is actually NOT a Starbucks store. They just sell Starbucks prices, and it is more expensive actually than a REAL Starbucks store. In other words, Barnes & Noble is a rip-off.

[sdokc]

Check this out.

Google Maps used to track Starbucks closures | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET

[flintysooner]

Starbucks posted the full list:
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/USStoreClosureInfo.pdf

[theilluminatedfirefly]

The Britton Road Starbucks, open less than a year, is closing in August.

I noticed the other day this store is still open. Has anyone heard any updates on the OKC stores closings?

[alan]

I noticed the other day this store is still open. Has anyone heard any updates on the OKC stores closings?

i'm starting to think the whole thing was a ruse to drive up stock prices.

or perhaps a "new coke" type of ruse.


either way i don't think they'll close any stores.

[theilluminatedfirefly]

It seems counter-intuitive to close any stores this close to the holiday shopping season. I know I drive through Starbucks even more when I'm out shopping. And the cooler weather seems more Starbucks-y.

[jbkrems]

I heard that the Ponca City store will be the first to close.

The rest may not be until 2009. Right now I am at Danforth & Santa Fe in Edmond, and they are still open.