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Hernando Today

Local Coffee Houses Could Close

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By TONY HOLT

Published: January 31, 2009

SPRING HILL - The local Starbucks locations avoided the first wave of closings last summer.

The second wave is coming soon and it is unknown whether one, two or all three stores will be affected.

The coffee retailer announced earlier this week it would shut down 300 "underperforming" stores after a slump in sales during the last three months of 2008. Two-thirds of those closings would be in the U.S.

More than 600 stores – including several in the Tampa area – were shut down about six months ago.

"Starbucks has been looking at all parts of the business to manage our cost structure," the company stated in an e-mail Friday. "The store closure list is being finalized and will be available after impacted partners have been notified."

A spokeswoman went on to say there were no specific details about the numbers of partners or store locations in Hernando County or the Tampa region that would be impacted by the announcements.

The company also announced job losses that could exceed 6,000. Another 700 corporate and support jobs also will be cut.

"Though these strategies are what we believe to be the right approach to ensure the long-term strength of our business in the face of these tough economic conditions," the company stated, "we realize the impact they will have on so many members of the Starbucks family who have directly contributed to our success over the years. This underscores the difficulty of these decisions."

The Starbucks locations in Hernando County are at 19348 Cortez Blvd., 13163 Cortez Blvd., and 4401 Commercial Way.

The Commercial Way store is located inside Target.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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