Shirley understands that the closure of the Starbucks store on the north side of the Amazing Brentwood isn’t the worst thing that could happen to her and her friends. It actually ranks pretty low.
But she’ still angry that the company shut it down.
Shirley also understands that there is a new Starbucks that opened up on the south side of the mall, close to the SkyTrain station.
But, look, she’s 82 and for her, it’s a long hike to get to the other side of the mall.
“The new one also means walking outside in the rain and combined with the walk, it’s just got me fed up,” said Shirley, who spoke to me recently while standing outside of the closed store.
I don’t drink coffee, but wow, I really am finding out just how loyal coffee drinkers are to certain spots.
“My group of seniors all live really close by,” said Shirley. “Not all of us still drive so having a place that’s easy to access is important.”
The Starbucks located at the Indigo store in Metropolis at Metrotown also closed down, leaving some to lament its loss.
“It was my second home,” said Jen, who spoke to the NOW at the Indigo store. “I spent a lot of time here studying for school and then doing work for my job. It’s nice to get out of the house and this was my favourite Starbucks because it was so much quieter than other locations because it was inside a book store. It felt so silent. I could also easily shop at the mall. It’s too bad.”
This was the second Starbucks closed at Metropolis.
The Starbucks on the second floor of Metropolis at Metrotown closed forever Feb. 1, due to impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starbucks has said its plan to close up to 300 coffee shops across Canada was completed by the end of March.
The Seattle-based coffeehouse and roastery chain announced the acceleration of its five-year "transformation strategy" last year as it responded to changes in consumer habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the company says some of its locations closed last fall and it expects to complete its planned store closures by the end of its second quarter.
The restructuring includes adding new drive-thru locations, the expansion of delivery and a pilot of curbside pick-up only coffee shops.
The company began experimenting with pick-up only locations before the pandemic. The first Canadian Starbucks store using the new format, which measured 93 square metres or 1,000 square feet, launched in Toronto's financial district last January.
Starbucks says the changes will help the coffee chain "best meet our customers where they are now."
The company had previously said it would close up to 200 of its locations in Canada over two years.
The higher wages and benefits come as the coffee company says it has added recruiting specialists to address "critical staffing shortages and difficulties" in some markets.
Starbucks, which refers to workers as partners, says it's also investing in additional training and new technologies and processes to improve day-to-day tasks in its coffee shops.
- With files from The Canadian Press
