Wilson Starbucks could be part of company's closings

Wilson residents who may be addicted now to the Starbucks java or ambiance, might have to be prepared for withdrawal symptoms. The two company-operated stores here are in jeopardy of corporate cuts. Starbucks Corp. has announced that it will close 600 company-operated stores in the next year because of the faltering U.S. economy and its own rapid expansion. Seattle-based Starbucks did not say which stores will be closed, only that they are spread throughout the country. But it did say 70 percent of those slated for closure had opened after the start of 2006. All three Starbucks in Wilson opened after January 2006. The first Starbucks coffee to hit Wilson came out of the new Target built at Heritage Crossing that opened in October 2006. However, that licensed location is safe from closure. "The approximately 600 Starbucks stores scheduled for closure are company-operated. Licensed stores were not a part of this review," according to an e-mail from the company's media relations office. The two that will be reviewed are the two stand-alone locations with drive-thru windows -- the Starbucks at 2113 Nash St. that opened in April 2007 and the Starbucks at Heritage Crossing that opened last fall. Heather Cornman of Bailey read a novel at the Starbucks on Nash Street as she waited between baby-sitting jobs. She'd just finished her usual Java Chip Frappuccino and said she hoped neither Starbucks would close. "I think it's a good balance to have two on either side of town," she said. However, having two in the Heritage Crossing seemed silly, she said. Cornman said although she goes to Starbucks about two o r three times a week, she's only visited the one in Target once, when she was shopping there. At Heritage Crossing, Don Fitzgerald sat on the patio with a cup of decaf coffee and The Wall Street Journal and chatted with a Starbucks employee. Fitzgerald also goes to Starbucks two or three times a week, especially on the weekends. "I like their coffee, the availability of The New York Times, and occasionally I get into a conversation with somebody so it allows for some socializing," he said. "I like the image too. It's an attractive image." Store closures are expected to take place between late July and the middle of 2009, spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said. The closures affect 19 percent of all U.S. company-operated stores that opened in the last two years, Chief Financial Officer Pete Bocian said during a conference call. About 12,000 workers, or 7 percent of Starbucks' global work force, will be affected by the closings, O'Neil said. Most employees will be moved to nearby stores, but she did not know exactly how many jobs will be lost. Starbucks estimated $8 million in severance costs. The company had previously planned to shut 100 stores. The 500 more that will be closed had been on an internal watch list for some time. They were not profitable, not expected to be profitable in the foreseeable future, and the "vast majority" had been opened near an existing company-operated Starbucks, Bocian said. Starbucks still plans to open new stores in fiscal 2009, but on Tuesday it cut that number in half to fewer than 200. The company did not adjust its plan to open fewer than 400 stores in 2010 and 2011. "We believe we still have opportunities to open new locations with strong returns on capital," Bocian said. At the end of March, there were 16,226 Starbucks stores around the world. The company operates 7,257 of those stores in the U.S. and 1,867 abroad; the remaining 7,102 locations are run by partners who license the Starbucks brand.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.