2:45 PM: Almost exactly a year after Starbucks closed its Alki store, the corporation will close its West Seattle Junction store, according to employees. A reader emailed us last night to say Junction employees had just gotten the news; then today we heard from numerous readers (and two more just as we wrote this!) that they were getting the word directly from store staff. So we went there to ask – since corporate HQ is closed for the holiday – and staffers confirmed it to us too (in person but on condition of anonymity). They said the store will close at the start of August, and that they’ve all been told they won’t be laid off, they’ll be able to transfer to other stores. The Starbucks share of the West Seattle coffee scene is shrinking – besides this and last August’s Alki closure, the Starbucks-licensed stands in Jefferson Square and Roxbury Safeways closed recently too. Starbucks will still have five standalone stores in the area – Admiral, Avalon (drive-thru), Morgan Junction, Westwood Village, and White Center (drive-thru). If the early-August timeline holds for the Junction Starbucks, it will close 10 years after it opened as the first tenant in that space in the then-new two-building mixed-use development. Junction 47 has a vacant space next to Starbucks, the former Haymaker Restaurant, though the online listing for that suggests a tenant is “pending” (we’re checking with the broker).
3:55 PM: Broker Jason Miller, first vice president with Kidder Mathews, says a lease is already pending for the Starbucks space too.
MONDAY NOTE: We’ve inquired multiple times and are still waiting for Starbucks’ official response.
4:27 PM MONDAY: A Starbucks spokesperson just sent this statement:
As part of Starbucks standard course of business, we continually evaluate our business to ensure a healthy store portfolio. After careful consideration, we’ve determined it is best to close the store at 4233 SW Alaska Street. Our last day at this location will be August 1. All Starbucks partners (employees) working at that store will have the opportunity to transfer to one of our nearby locations. We look forward to serving our customers at our other locations in our hometown of Seattle.
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