Several residents and WGx readers have put two-and-two together, and have suggested that a new Starbucks is planned for downtown Willow Glen.

Rumors that arose from the city’s permitting process were confirmed earlier this week, and a recent story from the WG Resident (”Owners of Garden Theatre brighten building’s appeal“) includes the tell-tale green sign in the proposed redesign of the building. Yes, another Starbucks is destined for our neighborhood.

Do we need another Starbucks? For several years, the branch on the corner of Minnesota & Lincoln was the only local outpost of the esteemed national coffee vendor, but now we’ve seen the addition of at least three more (Curtner & Almaden, Willow & Meridian, and new last month … Meridian & Hamilton, inside Safeway). Then there’s Peet’s at Willow & Lincoln, and the WG Coffee Roasting Company in between (although the independent cafe has been for sale).

Do we need another Starbucks? On the bright side, perhaps the chain can do what several locally-owned shops have not … improve the prospects for the historic Garden Theater. The coffee shop will take the place of the recently closed Hallmark franchise, which replaced Jersey’s Cheesesteaks, which replaced the White Dove Cafe, which replaced …. you get the picture. The new owners hope to breath some life into the stale retail plaza, relying on local MBA Architects to design an exciting upgrade.

In an ironic twist, the locally-owned Elva’s Coffee Stop (a WGx member) actually purchased some of the display racks from the Hallmark shop as it was closing last year.

Recent WGx posts in Shameless Plugs

Recent WGx posts in WGx Updates