Starbucks has served coffee at this SLO spot for 30 years. Now it’s moving
The first Starbucks to ever open in San Luis Obispo County is officially closing its doors for good — but don’t worry, you won’t have to go far for a cup of joe from the iconic chain.
Starbucks representatives on Thursday confirmed to The Tribune that the 885 Higuera St. location in the Downtown Centre will relocate to an under-construction new location at 1075 Court St.
“Choosing a site for a new Starbucks location is a key element in providing customers with the Starbucks Experience, and we carefully consider many factors when opening a new store,” the company said in a statement.
In April, the coffee chain confirmed plans to open at the Court Street location, which previously housed a Teazer World Market, but at that time did not disclose what would happen to the shop located across from Barnes and Noble and above Downtown Centre Cinemas just a few blocks over.
The new Court Street shop is expected to open in the fall, according to the company statement.
A request for comment on when the Downtown Centre Starbucks would close and if all workers were being transferred to the new location was not returned as of Friday afternoon.
Downtown SLO Starbucks was first in county
The Downtown Centre shopping plaza has been home to a Starbucks essentially since its construction in the early 1990s.
The county’s first Starbucks opened there in November 1994 during the start of the company’s national — and then later international — expansion.
At the time, then-manager Mary Truchot told the Telegram-Tribune a lot of the shop’s mission was educational.
“We do a lot of educating about coffee in general,” she said in a Nov. 24, 1994, article. “I think it helps all the coffee stores when everyone becomes aware of good coffee.”
Since then, the shop has added more than a dozen other locations throughout the county.
In San Luis Obispo itself, as of Friday there were four standalone Starbucks, as well as spots in Target, Vons and Cal Poly’s Campus Market, plus plans to add new locations in the Irish Hills Plaza off Los Osos Valley Road and in the former Village Host Pizza & Grill at 2138 Broad St.
What will happen to vacancies in downtown SLO shopping plaza?
The departure from the Downtown Centre shopping plaza will leave the major shopping thoroughfare with another notable vacancy.
Nearby, the California Pizza Kitchen space at 876 Marsh St. has remained vacant since it closed in September 2020.
Meanwhile, the former Tortilla Town space at 890 Marsh St. appears to have been leased after the business closed in December 2023, though no information has been released on what tenant is expected to fill the space.
The long-vacant 881 Higuera St. space next to Athleta also appears to have a new tenant, though what exactly that might be has also not been revealed.
When reached for comment, Jamestown representative Therese Cron said she could not release the names of the tenants in the two spaces until the brands were ready.
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