In response to news that Starbucks is planning on closing its downtown Trenton location – the only Starbucks in New Jersey’s 91,000-person capital city – Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan today urging the company to reconsider its decision.
The Trenton Starbucks, established in 2017 and located a few blocks away from the statehouse on South Warren Street, was an early pioneer in Starbucks’ Community Store Program, a program designed to provide coffeeshops and community spaces in disadvantaged areas. (Trenton is more than 90% Black and Hispanic and has one of the highest poverty rates of any municipality in New Jersey.)
“Given the clear and obvious alignment of the Trenton location’s performance with the goals of the Community Store Program, is this closure a signal from Starbucks that you are moving away from your stated commitment to supporting and uplifting underserved communities?” Watson Coleman’s letter asks.
As Watson Coleman’s letter points out, if the Trenton Starbucks were to close, it would join just two other state capitals without a Starbucks, both of which have less than one-sixth of Trenton’s population.
“By closing the Trenton location, New Jersey would become one of only three states with no Starbucks in their capital city, joining South Dakota and Vermont, and depriving Trenton – an urban community with a 26.2% poverty rate – of the opportunity to continue on its path toward economic revitalization,” the letter reads. “This Starbucks location has become an important part of downtown Trenton and its community, and I hope that you will reconsider closing it.”
Watson Coleman isn’t the only prominent politician taking Starbucks to task for the planned closure. Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora similarly sent a letter to Narasimhan yesterday asking him to reconsider his decision, noting that with few other cafes in the area, the Trenton Starbucks is a critical part of downtown livelihood.
“The closure of our Community Store not only leaves a void in our downtown landscape but also deals a significant blow to the progress we’ve made in fostering a more equitable and vibrant city,” Gusciora wrote. “The impact extends far beyond the loss of a business; it represents a setback in our collective efforts to uplift and empower our residents. I implore you to reconsider this decision and explore alternative solutions that would allow the Trenton Community Store to continue serving as a catalyst for positive change in our city.”
According to a report yesterday by NJ Advance Media, the store is currently set to close in just two weeks, on March 30. Starbucks did not outline the specific reasons behind the closure.
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