Target to add Starbucks in store

The aroma of Starbucks coffee soon will fill the air in another Mount Pleasant location.

The brand-name coffee will be brewed at a new store inside Target, 4097 E. Bluegrass Road, starting in September.

Scott Gordon, Target store manager, said the new Starbucks will open Sept. 15. Store hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Gordon said.

The Starbucks will have slight differences in operation from stand-alone locations.

Jon Haynes, manager of the Starbucks store at 5655 E. Pickard Road, said Target has purchased rights to sell the brand-name coffee under a license-operated format.

He said Target owns the store but is required to use the same equipment and preparation techniques as any location of the coffee shop would.

“No one will know any different by visiting the store unless they really know how Starbucks is operated,” Haynes said.

He highlighted examples of other license-operated Starbucks found at airports, department stores and vacation accommodations, like the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island. These shops have the same menu, but extra amenities like Wi-Fi Internet or seating areas would be up to the owner, Haynes said.

The store on Pickard Street catches commuter traffic to Midland, as well as visitors to the nearby Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort.

“Some stores near colleges struggle during the summer (when students are away), but we are pleased to not have to deal with that challenge,” Haynes said.

The Target Starbucks will be closer to campus than the Pickard location and inside a high-traffic retail shopping store.

Saline senior Lindsay O’Rourke said that although she does not often visit Starbucks, she knows many students who do.

“It’s more accessible (to those at CMU) than the one on Pickard,” she said. “And it is very convenient for Target shoppers.”

Haynes said Target will hire employees for the new Starbucks. Employment numbers will depend on store size and magnitude (of business), he said.

Despite the 600 Starbucks company-operated locations set to close, this location will not be affected because it will be locally run by the Target in Mount Pleasant.

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