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» A usually busy Starbucks at Mack and Woodward in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood closed Monday, February 13, 2023.
The company says the reason is a lack of safety.
A Starbucks representative tells Daily Detroit that they had been working with leaders in the store and the city to find a solution for the safety of their employees and customers.
But to no avail.
Employees were told on Friday that it was closing and yesterday was the final day open. They were given the opportunity to transfer to another store.
The location on the ground floor of the Ellington Lofts was renovated in 2016.
The closest (easily available to the public) Starbucks are now in either the Book Cadillac Hotel, or nearby that in the Marquette Building across from Huntington Place.
There are a number of local coffeeshops in the area to pick up the slack, including Cafe Alto to the south on Woodward, and Red Hook going into the former Great Lakes Coffee spot a couple of blocks north on Woodward later this year.
There are plans for a large apartment development including a smaller footprint Target just across the street from this now-shuttered Starbucks.
If this were a run-of-the-mill closing, it might not warrant as much attention. But closing citing employee and customer safety? That’s notable in an area that is getting so much investment attention.
I’ve been going to this location for years, and since the pandemic there has been a marked uptick in incidents when I’ve been present — whether it’s being rude to the staff or demanding free product. In recent weeks, I saw that they had removed a number of the chairs and tables and wondered if something was going to happen.
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📰 What to know
» Ford has stopped production and shipment of the F-150 Lightning. The truck built at their Rouge Factory in Dearborn has issues with the battery that engineers need to figure out. A restart date hasn’t been shared. [CNBC] [Freep]
» Rusted Crow Distillery is opening a new location in Belleville in the middle of March. Rusted Crow used to have a location next to Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit. The Dearborn Heights spot remains in business. [Metro Times]
» Rocket CEO Jay Farner is retiring after 27 years with the company. Rocket has not given a specific reason for Farner retiring at the age of 49. However, Rocket’s stock has fallen 65% since its initial public offering, and Farner announced in March 2022 to personally buy up to $36 million in Rocket Companies stock to help stem the price drop. [Crain's Detroit]
» Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield will end midwifery services on March 1. [WXYZ]
» The City of Detroit has begun work on Palmer Parks’s Lake Frances according to People for Palmer Park’s Instagram post. Portions of the park around the lake are fenced off, as a crew works on dredging and light restoration work. [People for Palmer Park]
» Arkay Inc. is struggling to serve clients with developmental disabilities after multiple thefts. The non-profit organization in Southfield has had multiple vehicles and catalytic converters stolen, which makes it difficult to transport clients to and from the facility and to activities. [WXYZ]
Catalytic converters are a big target here and across the country. Why? Three words. Rhodium. Palladium. And platinum.
Thanks so much for reading, and thanks to Shianne Nocerini and Luciano Marcon for helping with this edition of the newsletter.
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-Jer
