This coffee shop in Fresno’s Tower District has closed for good. Here’s what we know
Starbucks in the Tower District has closed – permanently.
The location had at first closed temporarily during the coronavirus pandemic. But its corporate office confirmed with The Bee on Friday the site at 741 E. Olive Ave. won’t reopen.
It’s a big change for the Tower District, where the coffee shop was one of the very few chains in a stretch of local businesses. Competitors The Revue and Hi-Top Coffee, both locally owned, do strong business in the busy entertainment district.
Starbucks did not say whether the COVID-19 pandemic played into its decision.
It said in an emailed statement, in part: “As part of Starbucks standard course of business, we continually evaluate our business to ensure a healthy store portfolio. After careful consideration, we determined it was best to close the store … As difficult as this is, we must make the right business decisions for the sake of Starbucks long-term growth.”
All the employees have been transferred to other Starbucks locations.
Starbucks has closed many of its locations – especially those without drive-thrus – temporarily during the pandemic. The company said it had no further permanent store closings planned in the area to announce as of Friday.
New stores planned
Despite the closure, Starbucks is opening new stores across the globe and in the Fresno area.
It recently opened a location at Clinton and Blackstone avenues with a drive-thru and another on West Shaw Avenue.
Starbucks has also signed a lease to open a new location at 6740 N. Blackstone Ave., in what is now the Long John Silver’s near Herndon Avenue, according to Commercial Retail Associates.
Real estate leasing agents have reported to The Bee that Starbucks has signed several other new leases for future locations in cities surrounding Fresno.
That includes a Starbucks slated for the southwest corner of Yosemite Avenue and Tozer Street in Madera, the southeast corner of Highway 99 and Betty Drive in Visalia, the southeast corner of Main and R streets in Merced, and the southwest corner of Vandalia Avenue and Jaye Street in Porterville.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 7:04 PM.
