A Starbucks Supernova?
Photo credit: e-magic
By Brooke A. Brown
If you’re a coffee drinker, and of course you are, then you’re probably aware of the fact that the Big Coffee Kahuna – Starbucks – is in the process of closing 600 of its 4.2 trillion locations nationwide. Okay, the second number is a touch misleading, but the first one is no joke. The folks over at Slate.com have provided a nifty chart that reflects how many locations each state in the union has, how many locations each state is losing and the overall percentage of stores closing.
The heavily populated states are, naturally, the hardest hit by the closings. But even our little slice of Almost Heaven is feeling the pinch, which is kinda tough to take considering the little mermaid from Seattle only recently, relatively speaking, set up shop in our fine state. (I’m sure she thought she had us covered since there are several locations in Roanoke.) Out of West Virginia’s 19 stores, we’re losing one: 11213 The Highlands, 36 Fort Henry Road, Triadelphia, W.Va.
There’s a saying in my native state of Tennessee (and I’m sure it’s familiar to several folks in and around the southern and central parts of West Virginia) that may best explain the downward trend that Starbucks is currently experiencing. They went and got too big for their britches. I think I’ll walk over to Taylor Books and see if they have any West Virginia Coal (an intoxicating dark-roasted coffee) brewed today.
