The Starbucks coffeehouse in Waban Village carried out its last day of business on Saturday, September 27. The Waban store had become a staple of the neighborhood that will be sorely missed by residents.
Two days prior, the staff received notice that the store was shutting down. This is one of more than 400 locations to close across North America as part of the corporation’s restructuring plan. In a press release on September 25, Starbucks chief executive officer Brian Niccol explained that the company had evaluated North American stores’ performances and determined cuts were necessary to start the next fiscal year.
“We identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” Niccol wrote. CBS News reported that Starbucks has closed 17 locations in Massachusetts.
At around 11AM on a sunny Saturday morning, frequent customers flocked into the Starbucks in Waban for one more cup of coffee. David Rothenberg and Lauren Comando stopped at the coffeehouse on their way to Green Line Waban station nearby.
“This is one of my favorite Starbucks in the world,” Rothenberg told Fig City News with his coffee in hand as he stood outside. Rotherberg said that there is a range of quality from one Starbucks to another, and baristas at the Waban location consistently made better coffee than any other Starbucks.
Comando used to teach fourth grade at Angier Elementary School, a couple of blocks away. Every morning, she would walk over to Starbucks to get her morning coffee. Many of the kids she taught at Angier went on to work at the store in high school.
“It is a loss for the community,” Comando told Fig City News.
Adam Kaplan stopped in to buy some drinks and treats for himself, his daughter Sawyer, and her friend Stella. The two…