WASHINGTON (HUNS) – Howard University students swarmed into the campus Starbucks on Saturday to put in their final orders on the last day before the business closed for good.
Customers found out about the sudden closure on Saturday when Starbucks announced its decision in emails, the store’s app and a sign on the window. Managers and employees at the coffee shop declined to comment.
Students and community members were shocked, wondering what will come next since multiple restaurants along the business strip on Georgia Avenue have recently closed or relocated.
Zoe Bowens, a first-year chemical engineering major, heard about the closing when someone posted the Starbucks sign on the Fizz social media app for the Howard community.
“This is the last thing that I expected, because it’s like the only store that’s left open on this strip,” Bowens said. “I can’t believe they would close Starbucks, because everybody comes here.”
“Starbucks is not just there for us to get drinks, but it’s also a great place for people to study and to go after their classes,” she added. “It definitely feels like a loss.”
Although the Jaliyaa coffee truck is still on campus, the only places where students can sit and drink coffee are McDonald’s and Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe, north of the School of Business on the opposite side of Georgia Avenue.
The Starbucks store at Howard is one of an estimated 10 sites being eliminated in Washington, among more than 400 closures this year in North America, according to corporate financial data and statements.
“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” chairman and chief executive officer Brian Niccol said.
“This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers,” Niccol added, noting that nearly 1,000 employees would be terminated or, if possible, relocated to other sites. “Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.”
In Washington, community members feel strongly about the end of Starbucks on Georgia Avenue.
Michael Mintzell, who visits the Starbucks every once in a while, believes that the country is facing critical times and connects this with the closure at Howard. He also says that it calls attention to how some corporations focus more on appeasing their shareholders than the communities they serve.
“It used to be when you had a company, you were a stakeholder in the community,” Mintzell said. “That means you were part of the community. You were concerned with the community. You were concerned with, you know, the life of the community.”
Witnessing a crowd of students at Starbucks on Saturday, Mintzell said it doesn’t quite add up for an establishment with good business to shut down.
“I’m sitting in front of this Starbucks, and it’s full of customers,” he said. “So, I don’t understand why they would want to close it when there’s all these people in there. Doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Mintzell remembers the magnitude of Magic Johnson’s partnership with Starbucks in 1998 to create Urban Coffee Opportunities and serve underrepresented communities. Johnson opened the Starbucks location at Howard in 2002.
“Magic Johnson had some kind of financial apparatus to bring businesses to financially challenged neighborhoods,” Mintzell said.”That makes it different, now, that puts it in a different kind of place than just your run-of-the-mill local Starbucks.” Johnson sold his Starbucks shares in 2010.
One consequence of the recent closings on Georgia Avenue is that incoming students now have fewer restaurants to visit. Howard’s development plans include a multi-use Fusion Building with housing, wellness spaces, retail and food options in the Wonder Plaza area on Georgia Avenue, north of Bryant Street. The new complex is projected to open in 2029, but it’s unclear what would become of the Starbucks space, which is south of Bryant.
“It used to be when you had a company, you were a stakeholder in the community. That means you were part of the community. You were concerned with the community.”
Michael Mintzell
Shawna McKenzie, the mother of a prospective student, said Howard is one of the top choices on her daughter’s list but Starbucks’ closure has changed the school’s positioning.
She questioned what her daughter would use to maintain energy levels outside of class.
“She’s going to end up still wanting to feed her body and fuel her body,” McKenzie said. “What is she going to eat? And McDonald’s is the one that’s across the street or down the way, which is not really something that is going to be nutritious.”
McKenzie also said this is a removal of a space for students to congregate and connect especially between class time.
“That’s a huge part of any community is like you’re breaking bread with people and you’re sitting down, you’re grabbing food in between different classes,” she said. “It’s a way to debrief and kind of decompress in a lot of ways.”
McKenzie said it’d be a great idea to replace it with a Black-owned business from a Howard alum to be enjoyed by the community.
“My hopeful response is like a really neat niche coffee shop that’s owned and operated by someone who maybe graduated from Howard, but who knows, bring it in,” she said. “But I think the more realistic aspect is nothing.”
McKenzie believes a day will come when this decision hits hard.
“It might not affect you right now, but just wait, you know, a year, three years, five years down the line and how much it’s going to impact this area,” she said. “And it’s not going to be for the better. There’s not a single moment that tearing things apart without rebuilding them will ever be a win for anyone.”
Bamidele Aina is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
