Starbucks Closes Pinnacle Hills Promenade Location
Last updated Thursday, January 8, 2009 7:23 PM CST in Business
By Lana F. Flowers
THE MORNING NEWS
ROGERS -- Shoppers at Pinnacle Hills Promenade can't get a caramel frappucino light at Starbucks anymore.
The Starbucks at 2203 Promenade Blvd. in the western Rogers mall closed last week, according to employees at the nearby Nine West shoe store.
A handwritten sign posted on the door alerted potential customers of the closing.
However, the move was expected.
Seattle, Wash.-based Starbucks Coffee Co. announced in July it would close 600 company-owned U.S. stores, including three in Northwest Arkansas. A Starbucks at 105 Dixieland Road in Lowell closed soon after the announcement.
The company also planned to close Starbucks at 3351 Pinnacle Hills Parkway, near Embassy Suites in western Rogers, and the one at the mall.
Thursday afternoon, no one answered the telephone at the mall's former Starbucks.
Employees at the Starbucks along Pinnacle Hills Parkway may know their store's fate by March, said Michael Day, shift supervisor at that location.
Some surrounding businesses and customers have petitioned and written Starbucks to try and keep that store open, Day said.
U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, said he likes to meet informally with constituents to drink coffee and discuss problems.
"It's a good atmosphere and the people there are very nice," Boozman said of the Pinnacle Hills Parkway Starbucks. "Every time I am in there, they are doing a lot of business."
He has two appointments there Monday, "so I hope they don't close it over the weekend," Boozman said.
The Starbucks closings come amid a struggling economy with consumers possibly rethinking a $4 cup of coffee. About 4.6 million people collected unemployment as of late December, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
"Despite a global economic environment which shows no immediate signs of improvement, the steps we took in (fiscal year) '08 position us to deliver EPS (earnings per share) growth in (fiscal year) '09," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks president and CEO, in a November statement.
The company reported $10.4 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2008 ended Sept. 28, a 10 percent increase from the $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2007.
Company executives expect to discuss first-quarter 2009 earnings in a Jan. 28 conference call.
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) closed Thursday at $10.14, up 15 cents. The share price ranged from a $20.69 high to a $7.06 low in the past 52 weeks.
At A Glance
Where's My Starbucks?
There are plenty of places in Washington and Benton counties to grab a Starbucks coffee. Starbucks locations not slated for closing include:
• Southwest 14th Street, also called Arkansas 102, and South Walton Blvd. in Bentonville.
• Southeast "J" Street at Southeast Walton Boulevard in Bentonville.
• Nelson's Crossing along North College Avenue in Fayetteville.
• Tuscany Square at Pleasant Grove Road near Interstate 540 in Rogers.
• West Walnut and 46th Street in Rogers, across from Scottsdale Center near I-540.
• A University of Arkansas campus store at the west end of Dickson Street.
Barnes & Noble book stores at Scottsdale Center in Rogers and on North College Avenue in Fayetteville have coffee shops that sell licensed Starbucks products, but the coffee shops are not Starbucks stores.
Source: Staff Report
Reader Comments (4 comment(s))
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VHugo wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:36 AM:
comreguy wrote on Jan 9, 2009 10:35 AM:
Did you happen to read that Mason's is actually leaving his locating in Rogers to move into the Promenade? Goes against the theory of the "many closures". "
aijcadd wrote on Jan 9, 2009 5:42 PM:
Not already registered?
django wrote on Jan 8, 2009 8:52 PM: