Starbucks in Houston

[Pumapayam]

Starbucks is shuttering 600 stores.

Which Houston based locations do you think will be a casualty? Hillcroft and 59 S come to mind for me.

[sheeats]

I'm hoping they close at least one of the THREE that are in the small shopping center across the street from my house.

THREE. In ONE shopping center.

[arisegundo]

Are both of the infamous twin West Gray Starbucks still open?

[PuroAztlan]

Are both of the infamous twin West Gray Starbucks still open?

Classic joke.

I found the end of the universe.

The end of the universe is in Texas.

Texas isn't that bad of a place, but still The end of the universe is in Texas.

It was soul shattering.

I was walking down the side walk.

I look to my right I saw a Starbucks.

Nothing special about that right?

But then, I saw something somewhat odd in the window.

I turned around.

At first I was speechless, my heart skipped several beats.

Then I thought my eyes were playing some kind of optical illusion.

But alas, there was no mistake.

The end of everything.

Directly across from a Starbucks, right across the street RIGHT NEXT TO A STARBUCKS, I saw a second Starbucks.

Yes, a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks.

That my friends, is the end of the universe.

- Lewis Black

[readam]

I've been to a Starbucks twice in my life...only because it was in a hotel lobby and it was the only place open. I won't miss them but to paraphrase " could this be the end of western civilization as we know it?" Go to MacDonald's...Consumer reports poll showed MacDaddy's coffee superior anyway. Yuppies, Boomers and Juveniles -tough luck

[Jeebus]

Starbucks is shuttering 600 stores.

Which Houston based locations do you think will be a casualty? Hillcroft and 59 S come to mind for me.

Damn, I use that one occasionally - and its always busy. What about the one on 59 at Bellfort instead? That ones a ghost town..

I'm hoping they close at least one of the THREE that are in the small shopping center across the street from my house.

THREE. In ONE shopping center.

Where is this?

[houstongirl]

There is a new Starbucks in the Vintage Park shopping center. There is also one diagonally across 249 in the Target center. Since the VP location is brand new, I vote for the other to close.... although the staff at the new one should all be replaced IMO.

[sarahiki]

There is a new Starbucks in the Vintage Park shopping center. There is also one diagonally across 249 in the Target center. Since the VP location is brand new, I vote for the other to close.... although the staff at the new one should all be replaced IMO.

What I read (somewhere; sorry I can't produce a link) is that the newer locations are the ones more likely to close. As well as, of course, older locations that are underperforming.

I am only slightly ashamed to admit a deep fondness for Starbucks. And Dietrich's. Both produce reliably excellent coffee. McDonald's and other places are hit and miss; they don't have the same strict rules regarding freshness. Coffee makes me feel good. Of course these economic times require me to drink less of it, and more of the kind that comes out of my own pot. Which is no doubt the broad trend leading to closures of so many stores.

[westguy]

I like this picture. It has arrows pointing out the cars which are only partially visible. Has anyone ever driven down West Gray and checked their watches for missing minutes?

[cosmic08]

The location on 45 and Tidwell. That location looks like it is on constant lock-down with the surrounding iron fence. The stray dogs wondering around don't help either.

[TJones]

I'll bet that any Starbucks currently in a Grocery store is doomed right now.

[sheeats]

@ Jeebus, it's Town and Country Village. One freestanding Sbux, one in Barnes & Noble and one in Randall's. All within two minutes walk of each other. Add other Sbux within a one-mile radius and you're approaching critical mass.

[dalparadise]

At the corner of Westheimer and Post Oak there are, technically, four Starbucks -- at least there were at one time. Four at one intersection (liberally interpreted, I'll admit) but after all, this is probably the finest retail intersection in the state.

There is one free-standing location at the Northeast corner. There is one inside the bookstore in the shopping center on the Northwest corner. And there are two separate locations in The Galleria, at the Southwest corner. If Dillards opened one, you'd really have a coffee meltdown.

Edited July 3, 2008 by dalparadise

[Jeebus]

The location on 45 and Tidwell. That location looks like it is on constant lock-down with the surrounding iron fence. The stray dogs wondering around don't help either.

That sounds like a good location.

I would imagine all the ones in the bookstores are safe, but the ones in the grocery stores probably aren't.

[houstonmacbro]

Any of the ones in grocery stores. They rarely seem very busy any way.

[marmer]

Just my guess:

One of the W. Gray ones, probably on the B&N side

The Shepherd/Farnham curve one

One of the Pearland ones -- probably the newer one on the east side

All the grocery and Target ones.

[sevfiv]

I would think the West Gray ones are safe because I thought they did extremely good business.

While I am not sure about the Target Starbucks' fate, they need to go (or train better)

That being said, I probably won't notice - I'll take my Catalina, Diedrich, Brasil, or home brewed any day over Starbucks...

[jfre81]

There are two West Gray@Shepherd stores because if one was shut down, people would never get stuff at the other. There'd be too many people.

The one next to the 59 Diner on Shepherd/Farnham will likely go, and some stores in the burbs might close too. Most of the closures nationwide are supposed to happen in California and Florida.

The vast majority of the ones inside stores are not corporate owned - they are actually operated by whatever they are located inside of; if you work at one in a Randalls you are working for Randalls and not Starbucks.

I do not work for Starbucks, but *Mrs. McCloud* does.

[CoolBuddy06]

I'm hoping they close at least one of the THREE that are in the small shopping center across the street from my house.

THREE. In ONE shopping center.

Sounds like what we have in Silverlake, Pearland. A stand alone Starbucks, one Starbucks inside Randalls and another inside Target. the two in-store stores need to kiss the dust.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Are all Starbucks franchises or are some of them independents that sell the products? I would think that some of the those that are stacked on top of each other weren't that poorly planned as company owned franchises, and some may be independents just jumping in the feeding frenzy. It gets a bit ridiculous when you literally see them next door to one another.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Nevermind found the answer, should have Google before I typed.

As of November 2007, Starbucks had 8,505 company-owned outlets worldwide: 6,793 of them in the United States and 1,712 in other countries and U.S. territories. In addition, the company has 6,506 joint-venture and licensed outlets, 3,891 of them in the United States and 2,615 in other countries and U.S. territories.

[sheeats]

It appears that there are 283 stores in the Houston area (both individual Sbux stores and licensed stores).

Would You Like That Iced?

The article has a lot more information about potential store closings in Houston.

[august948]

I'll bet that any Starbucks currently in a Grocery store is doomed right now.

I'm afraid you'd lose that bet. Not only are the starbucks in stores (grocery, target, b&n) almost all franchises, but they serve to draw customers in to the host store. As such, I don't know that high profitability for the starbucks itself is that important.

[sheeats]

I'm afraid you'd lose that bet. Not only are the starbucks in stores (grocery, target, b&n) almost all franchises, but they serve to draw customers in to the host store. As such, I don't know that high profitability for the starbucks itself is that important.

I agree with you. It seems that the stores getting axed will be newer, "freestanding" stores whose profits haven't yet paid for the construction costs or overhead of the store itself. I'm willing to bet the ones inside Randall's stores and IAH and whatnot are relatively safe.

[Pumapayam]

It appears that there are 283 stores in the Houston area (both individual Sbux stores and licensed stores).

Would You Like That Iced?

The article has a lot more information about potential store closings in Houston.

Of the 600 stores, 50 of the stores across the nation were told today that they were first onto the chopping block and would be shuttered by the end of the month. However, it's unclear if any of those 50 stores were in Houston. Our source estimated that between five and ten Houston locations would be affected by the closure. When asked to speculate which locations he thought were least profitable and most likely to close, our source guessed the new Chinatown location (Bellaire and Wilcrest) and a Galleria-area store at Richmond and Chimney Rock.

Expendable location.

No drive thru nor does it have a side walk friendly appeal. Just a typical strip center location with no potential.

Edited July 3, 2008 by Pumapayam

[escapee]

I like this picture. It has arrows pointing out the cars which are only partially visible. Has anyone ever driven down West Gray and checked their watches for missing minutes?

During my party days (nights) I traveled W Gray frequently. I can personally attest to the fact that lots of minutes and even more brain cells have been lost, and never regained, on that street. I do remember ham steaks and fried potatoes and One's A Meal. It was much better going down that coming up, if you know what I mean.

It would be such a shame for those "end of the universe" shops to shut down. That's such a funny blurb. And to think I've wasted so many years wondering about the beginning and the end........... Of course, there were no Starbucks back then when the Parlor and Blythe Spirits and Rockefeller's were my haunts. The old folks were right when they said that youth is wasted on the young!

[20thStDad]

I say shut them all down. I think empty calorie coffee drinks, along with french fries, are why americans are so fat now. That and the laziness.

[houstonmacbro]

I say shut them all down. I think empty calorie coffee drinks, along with french fries, are why americans are so fat now. That and the laziness.

The decision is a corporate one. While I am no fan of S/bux, I think they have a right to operate wherever they please. I think it is FOOLISH to have so many stores, but I am not a corporate manager.

That said, I agree with you that laziness is why we're (as a nation) getting so fat. We don't like to do things that require physical activities. Houston doesn't make it easier where you literally must drive most places to get anywhere (either because of distance, security issues, or simply lack of sidewalks ... but I digress).

[sheeats]

I say shut them all down. I think empty calorie coffee drinks, along with french fries, are why americans are so fat now. That and the laziness.

They do serve actual coffee and tea there, too.

But, yeah...Frappucinos deserve a special place in hell. Trust me; the baristas hate them (and hate making them and hate the people who tend to order them) just as much as we do.

[houstonmacbro]

Looks like no stores in Houston are hit in this first wave of cuts, although one could argue that Rosenberg IS Houston:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...ml?ana=from_rss