Starbucks in Byron

Dupcheck · #1 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 4:21 PM**

Did the Starbucks at 1291 Commissioners Rd close down?

go_leafs_go02 · #2 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 5:06 PM**

Haven't been by there personally, official website says it still is open:

https://www.starbucks.ca/store-locator?map=42.961132,-81.333649,16z

goldandnavy · #3 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 6:12 PM**

It is scheduled to close and they're opening a larger somewhere else. Not sure the details though, I heard this from an employee. There's also one opening at Wonderland South/Commissioners - I think it's under construction in the old Scotiabank beside Sleep Country

GreatTallNorth2 · #4 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 6:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldandnavy

It is scheduled to close and they're opening a larger somewhere else. Not sure the details though, I heard this from an employee. There's also one opening at Wonderland South/Commissioners - I think it's under construction in the old Scotiabank beside Sleep Country

Yes, that is supposed to be where they are moving to from Byron.

manny_santos · #5 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 9:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Yes, that is supposed to be where they are moving to from Byron.

So that means Byron will once again have a Tim Hortons monopoly for coffee, as it did for over a decade before that Starbucks opened. (Years after leaving the community I'm baffled that the area still doesn't even have a McDonald's.)

Someone really needs to step up and open a real independent coffee shop in that community. Byron hasn't had an independent coffee shop in decades. During the recent controversy involving Tim Hortons and minimum wage I kept hearing people say people should step up and "support their local independent coffee shop", but there isn't anything even resembling one in Byron or its neighbouring suburban areas that people can support. It's Tim Hortons in Byron, Tim Hortons south of Byron, Tim Hortons in Lambeth, Tim Hortons, Starbucks and Williams in Westmount, and Starbucks in Oakridge.

That Starbucks was one of the only public places in Byron to get WiFi. (The local London Public Library branch also does but you have to have a LPL card to access it, which are restricted to London residents. Plus the library is closed Sundays and Mondays.)

MolsonExport · #6 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 9:43 PM**

I would support a Black Walnut Cafe in Byron.

Rim Whoreton's is awful.

Djeffery · #7 Posted **Feb 5, 2018, 10:24 PM**

That Starbucks wasn't even open very long. I recall when I moved to Byron 8 years ago it was still a KFC and was supposed to become a Union Burger after that. They've been "closing" for a while now.

manny_santos · #8 Posted **Feb 6, 2018, 2:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

That Starbucks wasn't even open very long. I recall when I moved to Byron 8 years ago it was still a KFC and was supposed to become a Union Burger after that. They've been "closing" for a while now.

KFC was there for decades; I used to go there as a kid and a lot in high school. Starbucks opened there in 2013.

To qualify my earlier comment, I forgot that Little Red Roaster had a Byron location for a few years. It was still there as recently as 2011 but obviously closed sometime after I moved out of the area. It may have been there as early as 2005, I remember going there a couple times but it was always empty while Tims was packed. I always preferred their Wortley location. Technically this was a chain, but at least it was unique to London.

Maybe suburban people just prefer the national chains.

Djeffery · #9 Posted **Feb 6, 2018, 3:11 AM**

There was a coffee/donut shop (a small chain I think, can't recall the name) in where the current Pizza Hut is (which used to be a Mac's), going back 20 years or so. I'm thinking the Starbucks isn't surviving because of lack of drive thru. Given the fight against Timmy's, maybe they don't want to try to put another location in anywhere near there with a drive thru, if they even had a spot in mind.

manny_santos · #10 Posted **Feb 6, 2018, 2:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

There was a coffee/donut shop (a small chain I think, can't recall the name) in where the current Pizza Hut is (which used to be a Mac's), going back 20 years or so. I'm thinking the Starbucks isn't surviving because of lack of drive thru. Given the fight against Timmy's, maybe they don't want to try to put another location in anywhere near there with a drive thru, if they even had a spot in mind.

Robin's Donuts, which was there from about 1991 to 2002. It closed within three months after Tim Hortons opened in December 2001; Timmy's had a no-smoking policy at its London locations by then (if not nationally) while Robin's did not, and locals back then had long complained about the smoke-flavoured donuts at Robin's. Of course, that was back when Timmy's baked its own donuts from scratch, so the quality was actually a step up from Robin's (but not for long).

From a zoning standpoint, there are very few places you can put anything commercial in Byron, and there's basically zero vacancy in the retail market there right now. Occasionally a vacancy will open up at the Byron Village Plaza.

MrSlippery519 · #11 Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 5:49 PM**

It is now officially closed, signed are down and windows are covered.

Dupcheck · #12 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 5:25 PM**

That is a shame, it was such a great coffee spot. That Starbucks was one of the reasons we visited that part of the town. They should re open it.

manny_santos · #13 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 5:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dupcheck

That is a shame, it was such a great coffee spot. That Starbucks was one of the reasons we visited that part of the town. They should re open it.

It's a prime location and I'm sure something else will take its place. Seems like a great location for a Coffee Culture, though these days they seem to be closing more locations than they're establishing.

KFC was in that location for almost 30 years but after its sudden closure 7-8 years ago the building was supposed to become Union Burger (itself under the same corporate umbrella as Coffee Culture). That never happened. I think that spot was vacant for 2-3 years.

MolsonExport · #14 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 6:21 PM**

why are there no Second Cups in London? There used to be one in Masonville (gone) and I think another on Wellington South (Also gone).

Starbucks really isn't that great. The coffee is bitter, the food is overpriced and mostly lousy (cello-wrapped garbage).

MrSlippery519 · #15 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 8:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny_santos

It's a prime location and I'm sure something else will take its place. Seems like a great location for a Coffee Culture, though these days they seem to be closing more locations than they're establishing.

KFC was in that location for almost 30 years but after its sudden closure 7-8 years ago the building was supposed to become Union Burger (itself under the same corporate umbrella as Coffee Culture). That never happened. I think that spot was vacant for 2-3 years.

I hope a "food" place of some kind opens up there rather than a chiro/dr, etc. Location wise it would be perfect for something like Union Burger.

The location for Starbucks never made much sense

Dupcheck · #16 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 8:26 PM**

Another "Aroma Cafe" like the one at the Masonville mall would fit great in that spot. They have great coffee and good light food.

Djeffery · #17 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 9:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny_santos

....the building was supposed to become Union Burger (itself under the same corporate umbrella as Coffee Culture). That never happened. I think that spot was vacant for 2-3 years.

Interestingly, the UB up at Hyde Park is also closed.

jammer139 · #18 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 11:27 PM**

Premium fast food burger places - aka Five Guys, St South Street, Hero, Union are in a tough market position as you need to be located in a high traffic area to make a go of it. Not likely at the old Starbucks location.

MolsonExport · #19 Posted **Feb 14, 2018, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrSlippery519

I hope a "food" place of some kind opens up there rather than a chiro/dr, etc. Location wise it would be perfect for something like Union Burger.

The location for Starbucks never made much sense

Union Burger folded in Hyde Park. too bad: they had good food.

manny_santos · #20 Posted **Feb 15, 2018, 1:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

why are there no Second Cups in London? There used to be one in Masonville (gone) and I think another on Wellington South (Also gone).

I'm surprised Second Cup is still even a going concern. There's several in downtown Toronto and every time I've gone into any of them they're always dead, even in the morning. Meanwhile independent coffee shops nearby as well as Starbucks and Tim Hortons have big lineups.

I'm not entirely sure what's keeping people away from them, they have decent coffee.