Starbucks Is Closing Hundreds Of Stores--Including Some “One-Of-A-Kind” Sites In Repurposed Real Estate
Some of the closing Starbucks sites were developed via adaptive reuse; however they are likely to be in demand from other tenants and may be repurposed yet again in short order
This past week Starbucks SBUX 0.00%↑ announced plans to close ~1% of its U.S. locations.
This restructuring is expected result in the closure of roughly 500 of its cafes.
Some—though not all—of the closing locations have been revealed.
They include urban cafes, freestanding drive-thru sites and even some of the coffee chain’s more unique properties.
After all Starbucks has been among the more creative companies to repurpose real estate.
Many of its cafes were developed through the adaptive reuse of vacant, obsolescent and, often, historic properties.
For instance dozens of Starbucks cafes were developed through the repurpose of former bank branches.
Other Starbucks sites were part of the re-tenanting and redevelopment of shuttered casual dining restaurants like TGI Fridays and Logan’s Roadhouse.
Some “one-of-a-kind” Starbucks locations are expected to survive this wave of closures.
Such as this Starbucks in St. Louis, MO located in a repurposed, mid-century modern former gas station known locally as the “Flying Saucer” building.
However, other repurposed Starbucks properties are slated for closure.
Like a Starbucks in Dearborn, MI that was developed in 2009 by repurposing one of the two wash tunnels of its co-tenant, the Fairlane Car Wash.
Starbucks and Fairlane Car Wash have operated for the past 16 years with side-by-side tunnels—one that washes cars and the other that serves coffee.
Starbucks put its own spin on the former car wash drive-thru tunnel by decorating it with a mural of a coffee bean.
However the car wash-turned-Starbucks in Dearborn closed last month.
The space is not expected to remain vacant for long, though, as a new Yemeni coffee shop is expected to open in the premises soon.
Other unique repurposed Starbucks locations are also on the closure list.
One Starbucks set to close is located in the historic Orange Daily News building in Orange, CA that dates back to 1909.
The first Starbucks Reserve Roastery located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is also closing.
The ~15,000 square foot Reserve Roastery, which opened in 2014, is not only one of the largest Starbucks cafes but is also the product of adaptive reuse.
It is in a building that dates back to 1920 and was once a Packard car showroom and later a Volvo dealership.
The upshot to the lengthy list of Starbucks closures?
They may ultimately result in even more examples of creative adaptive reuse.
After all while the sites no longer fit the needs of Starbucks, they are still likely to be in demand.
And, perhaps, in line to be repurposed yet again for other tenants and users.