It's official. Starbucks plan to open shop in the heart of Park Avenue in Rochester
Starbucks is coming to Park Avenue.
The Seattle-based coffee shop chain has confirmed a long-rumored plan to open a store at 644 Park in a space where a laundromat operated for nearly 50 years until 2019.
A company spokesperson said the shop will open this fall but didn’t provide a date or specify hours.
The spokesperson did say the location will feature the standard Starbucks menu and employ around 25 people.
Local businesses dominate Park Avenue’s commercial spaces, and there are only a few nonlocal businesses in the vicinity of where the Starbucks will go (including 7-Eleven, CVS and a Bank of America branch).
Other food establishments near the new Starbucks in Rochester
The shop will share a block near Berkeley Street with the Park Avenue Pub, which serves dinner; The Frog Pond on Park, which specializes in breakfast, brunch and lunch; and Jines Restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner but is a big draw for breakfast and brunch.
And about a three-minute walk to the east are two longtime locally owned coffee shops — Café Sasso at 739 Park and Glen Edith Coffee Roasters at 23 Somerton St.
Even though Starbucks serves hot breakfast fare, Frog Pond owner Rene Spallina doesn’t view it as a direct competitor to her restaurant or see its presence as a problem.
“I don’t feel it’s going to hurt us,” she said. It might even help, she said, by drawing more people to the area. “But I don’t know how others feel.”
In addition, she said, “There’s a certain type of person who only goes to Starbucks,” versus someone who prefers patronizing local coffee shops, and she suspects there isn't a lot of overlap between the two.
“I think a Starbucks customer is a Starbucks customer,” Spallina said. “We’ve kind of joked about them walking in with their Starbucks coffee to order breakfast.”
New parking fees on Park Avenue
As for parking, it’s always been at a premium in the neighborhood. And recently, a fee of $2 per hour was imposed for most spaces in a plaza just west of the Starbucks site.
The Park Avenue Starbucks will be the fifth to open within Rochester city limits. Last September, a location with a drive-thru opened at 668 Blossom Road. The others are in the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, at College Town and in Wilson Commons on the University of Rochester campus, although that store is temporarily closed.
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Starbucks to open new Rochester NY location on Park Avenue
