The Starbucks located in the Joyce Cummings Center is set to close this Saturday. Employees were informed Thursday before their shifts that the Starbucks would be closing just two days later.
The closure is part of a wider scheme from Starbucks to shut down all “pickup-only” locations. Earlier Thursday, Starbucks announced that it would immediately close over 100 stores by the end of the fiscal year.
Luca, a barista at the JCC Starbucks, was shocked when she found out the branch would be closing.
“We really didn’t believe that they would close a lot of stores, because they’re actually profitable,” Luca said. “Everyone found out this morning, that includes the district manager and regional manager.”
Another barista working corroborated this, saying that the store reached “sales goals regularly.”
The JCC Starbucks does not have a cafe space, something that the company seeks to prioritize with their new restructuring.
“Because we don’t have a cafe [that] should not be a reason for us to be closed,” Luca said. “We do have [a] good connection with our community.”
A barista highlighted a positive work environment where they engaged with customers and had encouraging leadership.
“Just yesterday I was talking about [how] I’m only here because of this location, because of our manager, and he’s such a good manager,” one barista said.
Employees will be told on Sunday whether they will be offered a transfer to a nearby store or receive severance pay.
Both baristas expressed their dissatisfaction with how little time was given to employees prior to the closure.
“I wish they would have planned a little bit more, maybe giving us a few months, maybe a month or two,” one barista said.
The Daily has reached out to the university and they do not have a comment at this time.
