Starbucks says local stores here to stay

By Alicia Rimel

Published: July 18, 2008

The Rosser Avenue Starbucks in Waynesboro is still grinding out coffee despite a July 1 announcement from Starbucks Corp. alerting patrons that 600 stores will close in the next year.
The Seattle-based coffee giant on Friday released a list of stores targeted for closing. No local stores were on the list.
That was good news for patrons on Rosser.
“We love Starbucks and are glad it’s here,” said Charlotte Michie, 60. “We would not want it closed.”
Michie and her husband, Ray, 61, frequently travel the Interstate 64 corridor on their trip north from Raleigh, N.C.
“We were actually concerned how many we would see on the way up here,” Michie said. “But so far, we have been able to stay caffeinated.”
According to Starbucks, 70 percent of the stores on the chopping block were opened in early 2006 or later. The company expects to lose 12,000 employees during the closings, which will occur between late July and mid-2009.
Company representatives could not be reached for comment. Analysts have pointed to Starbucks’ rapid growth as a potential death knell amid a weakening economy.
Many of the coffee drinkers at the Rosser store Friday afternoon hailed from outside the area. They cited the location near I-64 as the main reason for taking the exit ramp into the River City.
“When we travel south, we know it’s here, so it’s a stopping point for us on the way to Roanoke and places like that,” said Susan Weiford, 56, of Locust Grove. “It’s just so close to 64.”
Los Angeles native Jason Anderson, 31, said that a shortage of Starbucks is not an issue at home, but in smaller towns such as Waynesboro, closings could deal a blow to the local economy.
“I think it’s good that this one is staying,” Anderson said. “That way, at least Waynesboro has something. And big cities can stand to lose [Starbucks], but small cities really can’t because of economical reasons.”
Eighty-eight stores will close in California, followed by Florida, with 59 closings, and Texas, with 57.