Trenton mayor to meet with Starbucks in hopes to stop coffee chain from closing city's only store
TRENTON - Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said he will meet with Starbucks on Thursday in hopes to convince the coffee giant not to close its only store in the state's capital city.
"I hope they reconsider," Gusciora said told FOX 29. "We are having a meeting with them this afternoon and its hopeful we can reach some kind of accomodation."
Starbucks announced it will shutter its downtown Trenton store at the end of the month, and has offered employees an opportunity to transfer to nearby locations.
The Starbucks opened in 2017 as a Community Store, which is an initiative by the company to support economic development in diverse and underserved areas.
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"It is a great concept," Gusciora said. "If you talk to the employees, they love their jobs, they love the opportunity that Starbucks has given them."
He alleged that Starbucks' decision to close the Community Store was driven by their "economic bottom line."
Starbucks, meanwhile, said the decision came after vetting its portfolio of stores "to ensure it's meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve."
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Gusciora believes the "Starbucks effect" has helped the capital's downtown business district, which he says has welcomed new businesses and increased foot traffic.
"We were hoping that Starbucks would hang in there as we do the makeover of our downtown and more businesses come into the block," he said.
The next closest Starbucks store is a 10-minute drive to Lawrenceville or a slightly longer commute to their store in Hamilton.