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West Broward Boulevard store among 600 Starbucks closing nationally: More than 600 locations closing, including 12 in S. Florida(South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 19--Todd Adderly said his neighborhood needs Starbucks. Adderly, a 34-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident who describes himself as a Starbucks fanatic, was disappointed to learn the store at 1100 W. Broward Blvd. near his home would be closing. He said the store should be spared because it serves a diverse clientele and has a steady customer base, among other reasons. "It's the most comfortable one," Adderly said on Friday. "People come here at night to relax." He added: "They're going to close down the one that makes the most sense." Three Starbucks stores in Broward County, seven stores in Palm Beach County, and two in Miami-Dade County were part of the more than 600 company-owned stores identified for closure late Thursday. The store on West Broward Boulevard was the only one closed in Fort Lauderdale, among the nine in the city, according to the company's Web site. The Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. wants to cut underperforming locations and improve its long-term growth. Fifty-nine stores in Florida will close, the second-highest closure total after the nearly 90 closing in California. The coffee shop chain said on its Web site the closures will begin at the end of July and run through March 2009. As many as 12,000 full-time and part-time positions, or about 7 percent of the company's global work force, would be eliminated with the store closures, according to a company filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The manager of the West Broward Boulevard store, Enoch Birt, declined to comment on the announcement. The store was opened in January. Kelly Mattran, marketing manager for Starbucks Coffee Co., said of the stores closed, about 70 percent of them were opened after October 2005. Miami Beach resident Kate Ferro wasn't surprised to hear that location was closing because she said there aren't many attractions near it to generate foot traffic. And the customers who do come are in and out in two minutes, she said. However, Ferro believed the market for Starbucks locally was a bit saturated. "I used to live in New York and it was ridiculous; they were on every corner," Ferro said. "I don't think this one is necessary because it's in a weird spot." Miami resident Ian Larson, 35, doesn't think the company grew too fast, but is downsizing like many others because of the economy. As an infrequent customer, he said he thinks Starbucks shops in malls or airports perform better than those as stand-alone stores. He said the company could consider diversifying its menu and include sandwiches or other food to stay afloat. Alecia Harper, 43, of Weston, was unhappy to hear about the store closure because she comes to this location often, sometimes twice a day. She said she enjoyed sitting on the outdoor patio to access the Internet and read and talking to the friendly employees. "My home away from home will be gone," Harper said. Bowdeya Tweh can be reached at or 954-356-4528. Watch Starbucks' customer sound off at Sun- Sentinel. com/ business To see more of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |