One of Vancouver’s – and Canada’s – original Starbucks coffee houses is shutting its doors for good.
“We’ll close May 28,” said Cindy Bokitch, regional vice-president of operations for Starbucks, Western Canada. The store at 100-1100 Robson St., at Thurlow, opened March 1, 1988 and was the third Starbucks in Canada and the third in Vancouver.
“We have the other store across the street and two others close by. They’ll get busier.”
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Bokitch said the store is closing at the end of its current lease because it needs renovating and a new lease contains a demolition clause that could be activated with short notice, potentially making the renovation a waste of money.
“It’s unfortunate,” she said. “It is doing really well.”
Bokitch said the demolition clause, along with a possible rent increase, means signing a new lease with owner Stanley Dee and Associates Inc. doesn’t make sense for the coffee giant.
She said extra staff will likely be hired at the nearby Starbucks coffee houses – including one across the street from the store that’s closing – to accommodate an expected rise in business at those locations.
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