I support the petition. This location is relaxing, unique and convenient to the T. It has a long history as a place to get coffee, even before Starbucks' time. Why would you close this location and leave its generic counterpart in Newton Centre?
This is the most unique Starbucks in Boston and a great community meeting spot. You would be doing yourselves and the community a disservice by closing. Keep it open!!
I support this petition. The location is very convenient and it is one of the most unique Starbucks that I have encountered. The atmosphere is much warmer and welcoming than the Starbucks on Beacon Street.
I support this petition. This is the best atmospheric starbucks I've ever been in and the most valuable real estate in all of Newton Center. What can we do to help increase sales if that is the reason for closure??
I want to second everything that signer number 35 writes. There are few if any Starbucks locations, with the exception of the Train Station in Newton Center, that in any way capture the "coffee house" feel that Starbucks says it wants to recapture. Surely, the contrast between the typically small, sterile Starbucks location on Center Street in Newton and the spacious, aesthetically pleasing Train Station location that you plan to close could only be described as blatant. I write as a great fan of Starbucks, actually. Because I've traveled for 40 years as management consultant, I've frequented 10s and 10s of Starbucks locations, and I cannot think of one that I would trade for the Train Station look and feel, quite apart from its comfort and seating availability and fine service. For the past twenty years, I've spent most of my time with owners and CEO's and top management teams, so I know you've got per square foot revenue figures that drive these decisions, and understandably so. And, and, look and feel and spacial friendliness matter, too. If you do not factor these considerations into your decision about this store, you will be making a mistake that will be your great loss, as well as ours.
This Starbucks is clearly an appreciated establishment. It would be a poor choice for closure given the loyalty of its customer base and its unique setting.
MEDIA INQUIRY, not signature:
I am a reporter at The Boston Globe. I want to get in touch with the person who started this petition "denisgoodwin." Please contact me at ecampbell@globe.com or 617.929.7553. Additionally, any petition supporters who are interested in discussing this issue, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Campbell
Dear Sir:
Location, location, location. This Starbucks was originally part of Coffee Connection - Starbucks' segue into the Boston area. It is part of the neighborhood. If you decide to close it, you will become just another chain outlet in Newton.
Respectfully,
HL
Please do not close the Union Street location! I drive to work and stop by this location every day. It is well located, easy to find parking and has friendly staff. If this location is closed, I won't go to the Centre St. location. There is always traffic and it's impossible to park on weekdays during rush hour.
I support this petition!! How else will I get through 14 hour shifts at Union Street Restaurant if I don't have my local Starbucks...there is no way I'll walk to Centre Street for coffee!
Dear Howard,
As a former barista, I am invested in the long term success of Starbucks. Thus, as a former employee and resident of Newton, I feel it is my duty to let you know that closing the Union St. Starbucks is a huge PUBLIC RELATIONS MISTAKE! The Union St. Starbucks is EXACTLY what you imagine when you think of a welcoming 3rd SPACE. It has an amazing manager and staff who are personal friends to many many business people in Newton and beyond. In addition, it supports the brand to countless tourists and Red Sox fans on their way into Boston on the "T". It is home to numerous local and foreign students of all disciplines. In addition, it is a meeting place and home to many many families in Newton. Please consider keeping the Union St. Starbucks open because YOUR SUCCESS as a corporation depends on decisions like this that affect community relations. Remember, our LOYALTY is your LONG TERM SUCCESS!!
I have been to many Starbucks and the staff at the Newton Center 'train station' Starbucks are far superior than most I've experienced. They know my complex beverage order, are welcoming & pleasant. The Needham Street location is none of these things.
It would be horrible to lose this Starbucks. The store on Centre Street is difficult to park anywhere near and is nothing more than an extension of the real estate company next door. I would never frequent it either and will take those dollars elsewhere.
I support this petition.
This is by far the nicest and most interesting Starbucks store in the region, and perhaps the country! It's a destination for my family and an asset to the community. Please keep it open and, if you must close a store, make it the Centre Street location.
I support this position. I too am very upset this location is closing. I have been a daily patron at this Starbucks since it opened. The site is unique, the staff is well-trained and friendly, plenty of parking, always clean. My understanding is that Howard Schultz visited this store and declared it "one of his favorites." I would reconsider the financial numbers for this store in how many customers you would lose (Peet's will become my new daily stop) and the impact of closing the other Newton Centre store. With some simple calculations I am confident that you will see you are making a mistake. If there are approx 60 people so far that have signed this petition than there are 100s more who feel the same way. HOWARD PLEASE RECONSIDER
I thought the CEO of Starbucks was complaining about how generic their stores had become. Why close such a unique location over the cookie-cutter one? I'm sure it was just someone in the corporate office having to pick and choose locations blindly without much information to go on. I hope this petition gets their attention. They seem like the sort of company that would listen to their customers.
thanks so much to everyone who has done or said something to keep the store open. newton would lose a piece of what makes it unique, and it's really awesome that you all are recognizing it.
I would like to second what others have said, and add that the train station Starbucks serves an important function besides providing coffee; on cold winter days, it is a perfect place to wait for your train, especially as there is an electronic sign that lets you know when the next inbound train is coming. With the current economy, the space is likely to stay shuttered for a long time, depriving the community of a valuable resource.
I also refuse to use the Centre St. Starbucks, and will patronize Peet's instead.
I support this petition. This is a beautiful and unusual store which makes great use of a historical space; I can't understand why this one would be closing instead of the other a block away.
I support this petition.
I can not live without my daily starbucks does, and its not because the coffee is so great, but because I love the people at the t stop starbucks.
I love this Starbucks - The service is great and the spaciousness and beauty of the spot is unique. I have been meeting friends here with our kids for years, but we will have to switch to Pete's in the future because strollers are really difficult to manage in the Center St location.
This location is so convenient to the many people coming and going on the T. The open and relaxed space is an invitation to sit for a moment during a busy day, to read the paper,or connect with friends. The setting is unique and a refreshing change from the sterile, "cookie cutter" version around the corner.
I have no clue why you would even think about closing the train station Starbucks and leaving open the vastly inferior, with NO PARKING and no handicap access Centre St location. I won't be spending my money at Starbucks unless this particular store remains open, especially since it's the only coffee shop convenient to public transportation. We ARE trying to get people out of their cars and onto the subway, right?
This Starbucks in a historic (and awesome!) building should stay put. It's one of the best places around to meet friends, sit and read, or just peoplewatch. Close the other lame one across the street instead!
I support this petition.
The location is convenient for T-goers, and in bad weather, is a great place to be able to stay. It's comfortable and spacious-all of the other starbucks that I've been to get too crowded, but this one is very relaxed :)
I doubt there are many other Starbucks' located in as historically important building: the stations of the Green Line were designed by the firm of the great Boston architect H. H. Richardson. This is a building that should be kept in use.
Dear Mr. Schultz,
I have been a guest at the Union St.(Newton, MA) Starbucks for the past 7 years. This is my "home store," the store that got me hooked on the brand - partly due to the quality of the product, but equally due to the warm and gracious service I have always enjoyed here and the incredibly appealing space.
As the Starbucks mission statement emphasizes the importance of building community and connection, I am particularly dismayed - and puzzled - by the company's decision to close this store, which is by far the most community-oriented one I have ever visited, locally, nationally and internationally. Not only would it be a shame to close this store and disappoint a large and diverse community of patrons on a daily basis, it would also be a glaring contradiction of one of the company's essential, and, one hopes, valued tenets: the value and impact of community as an agent of positive change in the world.
Please urge your colleagues at the regional and national levels to revisit this unfortunate business decision.
Sincerely yours, Mimi Minkoff
mminkoff@winsor.edu
This may well be the only Starbucks I've ever been to that has adequate room to sit and talk with friends. It has a warm , open feeling with interesting architecture/decor far superior to the "generic" Starbucks found in most locations. The manager, Jim, is terrific. The larger size means the store has lower earnings per square foot, but it's the only Starbucks around with a decent chance to find a seat.
I support this petition. This is a great and very unique location and my kids really enjoy watching the trains. My 2.5 year old son will be heartbroken if the "Choo Choo Starbucks" gets shut down!
I support this petition, but more from a business perspective: having frequented both locations mentioned in the petition, it seems to me that the train station location has much more business potential for Starbucks, some of which has not yet been tapped. From a personal standpoint, I strongly prefer the train station location.
I support this petition. This is the Best Starbucks I have gone to in a 100 mi. radius first of all... and it is right at the T stop! c'mon, do you reaalize how many people you'll be pissing off?!?!
I support this petition. This starbucks is great, its bigger, and theres always a table, awesome staff, and I guess its a historical location in Newton.
This was one of the first locations of Starbucks tht I know of in MA. What a crime to close such a wonderful historic location! Close the other mocation in Newton Center but not this one. I support this petition.
Don't you dare get rid of this Starbucks. This is the first Starbucks I ever went to. Do not close this location. It should be the model for other stores.
I support this petition. I actually love both locations- the manager for Centre St. is great, as are the employees and I hope that instead they will move them over to the Union St. location and keep a far more beautiful and roomy Starbucks open.
I agree! This starbucks is airy and spacious and it offers the full menu! The smaller starbucks is cramped and there's never enough seating plus they don't even make hot breakfast sandwiches! I support this petition.
I support this petition. This is a truly unique Starbucks and probably the best of any Starbucks in this area that I have frequented. I believe closing it is a huge error!!!
I support this petition.
I have been going to this Starbucks location all of my life and refuse to go to the one on Centre St.
They are far nicer with their service on the Union St. location and will not continue going to Starbucks if you are removing my favorite location.
