Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Talk About News... old news that is...

On June 19th I first mentioned that Starbucks were the new tenant for this building... so on June 29th CBC took a shot at me on the Journalism front as they had "called" Starbucks and Chris Tweel and CBC swallowed their standard line of "no new store"... yet all along Starbucks were hiring staff and Chris Tweel was doing the renovations to Starbuck's standards... by the way I understand Rodd Hotels are moving their head offices into the Tweel Building as well.... in early June I mentioned that that the Downtown Shoppers was moving but none of the news agencies have bothered to follow up on this news... Shoppers are relocating from Kent Street and heading for a new store on Queen Street between the TD Bank and the Bookmark and the infill contract has been awarded by Homburg to J. W. Lindsay a Halifax contracting firm.... maybe I could get accredited as a "business reporter"....
Starbucks coming to Charlottetown
DOUG GALLANT
The Guardian
Starbucks, the world’s leading retailer and roaster of specialty coffees, will open its first full-fledged P.E.I. location in Charlottetown next month. Starbucks Coffee Company officials confirmed Friday they have leased about 1,700 square feet of space in the newly renovated Tweel Building at the corner of University Avenue and Kent Street. That location was previously home to Tweel’s Gift Shop. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said they expect to open here in mid-September. “We’re thrilled to be opening our first P.E.I. location in Charlottetown,” the corporate spokeswoman said. “We look for great locations in great communities where we can be relevant. We think Charlottetown will be a great city for us.” The Charlottetown location will be a full service Starbucks, carrying the complete line of Starbucks coffees, espresso-based beverages and iced beverages, as well as Starbucks food products. A retail wall will allow patrons to purchase packaged coffees, music and a selection of gift items. The interior design of the Charlottetown Starbucks will reflect the age and character of the building. “We will be using very traditional finishes,” the spokeswoman said. “We want to embrace the heritage of the building. We want to create a warm, beautiful place, a place away from home and work where people will want to go and connect with friends or simply relax and read a book or a magazine,’’ she said. “We will have comfortable armchairs and a fireplace and we intend to incorporate some special artwork. We try to create a unique experience for people.” At the same time they also want people to embrace their coffees. Starbucks carries more than 30 blends and single-origin coffees. The company has hired a manager for the Charlottetown store and will begin to hire staff in mid-August. Those individuals — whom the company refers to as partners rather than employees — will undergo the company’s rigorous training program at an existing Starbucks location. “They will learn how to craft our beverages and how to deliver the quality service that is part of the Starbucks experience.” Approximately 15 positions will be available.Starbucks opened its first Canadian store, Seabus, in Vancouver, in 1987. There are now over 400 company-operated stores and over 100 licensed concept stores across the country. Rated by Fortune magazine this year as one of the 100 best companies to work for, the company is also known for its strong sense of corporate social responsibility.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

I'm a nobody and I knew Starbucks was moving into the Tweel building before they started interior renovations. CBC, however, cannot base their stories on rumors and in the field they are in rumors are only rumors until an official announcement is made.

Tim Banks said...

Andrew... yes we all knew the rumour but a good reporter would have asked Starbucks if they had hired a manager which they had already done... they would have asked Chris Tweel if he had a LOI (letter of interest) or offer on the space from Starbuck which he did... in both cases this would have been enough to print the story...