Missoula News

Holy Frappuccino!

Downtown Missoula Starbucks Grinding to a Halt

By Amy Linn, 6-17-09

Starbucks downtown: the conclusion of Berry Chai Infusion. Photo by Greta Rybus.

Here’s the skinny: the Starbucks coffee shop in downtown Missoula is slated to close. To date, the three-year-old store in the Trailhead building is the only one of the five Starbucks in the area that will shutter its doors owing to the global financial slowdown, which (apparently) no amount of caffeine has been able to cure. Last summer the company announced it would close more than 600 stores in the U.S.; this winter, it said it would close an additional 300 locales in the U.S. and abroad, due to lackluster performance. More recently, it was announced that an additional 200 stores in the U.S. would close.

“Starbucks has been looking at all parts of the business to manage our cost structure and align the organization in the most efficient way possible. Our priority during this time is to prepare for the continued uncertainty in the economy and ensure we have a strong foundation to support our long-term goals,” a Starbucks representative explained in an email.

At neighboring coffee and bakery hotspot Break Espresso, baker/barista Chad Preble said employees felt somewhat vindicated by the news.

“We were pretty thrilled,” Preble said. He called it a vote of confidence in small local businesses, which can be dominated or done in by corporate competitors. Preble noted, however, that Break never really saw its customer base diminish after Starbucks arrived. “I think everyone that came here, kept coming here,” he said.

Inside the downtown Starbucks, the staff was less forthcoming. Media inquiries could only be answered by a Starbucks Coffee Company district manager or a store manager at the Starbucks at South Reserve Street, an employee said. The store manager at South Reserve Street, in turn, directed this reporter to the Starbucks media hotline. The hotline representative would not answer questions about when the Higgins Starbucks would close or how many employees would be affected.

She sent the following information in an email:

“Recently, partners (employees) in approximately 200 under-performing stores in the U.S. were notified that their stores will be closing. Some of these locations will be closed by the end of April, with the remainder closing by the end of the fiscal year. Partners impacted in international markets will be notified of closings in accordance with appropriate local labor laws and custom specific to their country ... All affected stores will be closed by the end of the fiscal year. However, we are not able to provide specific details on each store.

The decision to close stores and impact partners is extremely difficult. On average, each Starbucks store has about 20 full-time and part-time positions. We recognize the impact this has on many members of the Starbucks family who have directly contributed to our success over the years. The contribution, spirit and energy of these partners will be missed.”

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