Several Starbucks shops in Ottawa are closed as the Seattle-based coffee giant shutters locations across North America. CEO Brian Niccol announced the closures Thursday in an open letter, saying approximately one per cent of all of the company’s locations on the continent will be closed by the end of the fiscal year. “Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations. This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult,” Niccol wrote. A Starbucks spokesperson would not confirm any store closures in the capital when reached by CTV News Ottawa last week, instead quoting Niccol’s open letter. CTV News Ottawa reached out to the company again on Sunday. The following stores in Ottawa are no longer present on the store locator on the Starbucks website, and are listed as “permanently closed” on Google: It’s not known how many jobs will be affected. A sign on the door of the coffeeshop at Bank and McLeod announced the closure to customers. “We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close this Starbucks location. We know this may be hard to hear—because this isn’t just any store. It’s your coffeehouse, a place woven into your daily rhythm, where memories were made, and where meaningful connections with our partners grew over the years. We’re deeply grateful for the community that’s been built here," the sign said, in part. An identical sign was posted on the door at 1050 Bank St. Elizabeth Gartke drove to two different locations Monday morning to get her morning coffee, only to discover the locations were closed. “St. Laurent is one of my favorite places to go because I have a gym membership there. So, I usually get my gym wear on, and then the first thing I do is get a coffee from Starbucks,” Gartke said. “And it was closed and I was in shock. And then I thought, well, I’m going to go to my second place that I always come to, which is a little bit farther, but very disappointed and I’m very sad and I hope they bring the stores back.” Shannon Severin says the location on Innes Road was a “staple” in the neighbourhood. “We do have the one at Trim Road, but this one is a lot more central. It’s a lot more in an area that’s busier and it’s needed right here. (laughs) Come on, we need our Starbucks,” Severin said. “And the jobs lost, that is the thing that is upsetting more than anything else as well and my vanilla latte, you know?” Niccol said affected employees will be offered transfers to other nearby stores, where available, or “comprehensive severance packages” if they cannot be moved to another coffeeshop. “We also hope to welcome many of these partners back to Starbucks in the future as new coffeehouses open and the number of partners in each location grows,” he said. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Kimberley Johnson
