Starbucks is Leaving New Jersey City Despite the Mayor and Governor’s Pleas

Starbucks has decided to go ahead with its plan to close its only store in downtown Trenton. The store will close on Saturday, but there is a possibility that it may reopen in the future. The shop opened in 2017 on Warren Street as part of its community store initiative. It was scheduled to be closed at the end of March.

Mayor Reed Gusciora asked Governor Phil Murphy, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J., 12th District) to help convince the company to think again. However, despite having meetings, phone calls, and a tour by company executives, these efforts were not sufficient to save the story. Starbucks spokeswoman Betsy McManus did not share a specific reason for the closure and repeated the original reason for closing.

“We regularly review our store locations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers and partners. Unfortunately, we have had to make a difficult decision regarding this particular store.” “But we will keep collaborating with leaders to find ways to help and invest in the Trenton community and the local nonprofit relationships that we have had in Trenton for a while,” McManus told New Jersey 101.5.

Also read: NFL Player Among 10 Florida Shooting Victims; 16-year-old Arrested

Gusciora was happy that Starbucks made an effort to work together on finding a solution to keep the store open. “Our main focus from the beginning has been to help the Trenton workers affected by this closure find suitable job opportunities,” the mayor told New Jersey 101.5. “I am happy to say that Starbucks has taken the initiative to offer these employees jobs at other Starbucks locations, showing that they care about the well-being of our community.”

Gusciora mentioned that Starbucks is worried about the decrease in foot traffic in the downtown area. This decline happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made people work from home. Workers discovered that they enjoyed this habit. State workers in New Jersey only need to work in person for three days each week.

“Our local businesses rely on state workers, and we would be happy to have all state workers back in Trenton,” Gusciora said.

Trenton has several Starbucks locations nearby, including in Hamilton, Lawrence Township, Pennington, and Princeton. And Trenton might soon have a Starbucks. “There are people who want to reopen the store as a licensed franchise,” Gusciora said.