Photo courtesy of Starbucks
Starbucks cup
Starbucks is closing more than 100 of its coffee shops across the country including the iconic location at the Old Town Alexandria waterfront, at 100 S. Union St., just across the street from the Torpedo Factory Art Center, according to Business Insider.
The coffee shop is located in a historic building on one of the busiest corners in Old Town Alexandria.
Looking for your coffee fix? There are several coffee shops near the 100 S. Union St. location including Misha's Coffee at 6 Prince St., (opens at 6 a.m.), Cafe du Soleil, 215 S. Union St. w(opens at 7 a.m.), Pitango Gelato & Coffee, 115 S. Union St. (opens at 8 a.m.).
According to Business Insider, its one of at least eight Starbucks in Virginia to close. Others in Virginia that are closing include one in Arlington, at 4000 Wilson Blvd. and one in Fairfax on Fairfax Circle. Others closing in the Commonwealth are located in Richmond (where two are closing), Virginia Beach, Lynchburg and Martinsville. Washington Business Journal reported that another Starbucks in Arlington, at 901 N. Stuart St., is also closing.
CNN reported that "Starbucks will close 1% of its stores in North America this month. The closures – and layoffs of 900 corporate employees – are part of a $1 billion restructuring plan. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the stores it will shut weren’t 'what our customers and partners expect' or weren’t making money."
The waterfront location of the coffee shop has an interesting history, according to the City:
Fitzgerald's Warehouse, 100-104 South Union Street, Year Built: c. 1795-1797, Original Owner: John Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald’s Warehouse at 100-104 S. Union St. (c. 1797) is one of the Alexandria Waterfront’s true historic treasures. John Fitzgerald was George Washington’s aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War and later served as his secretary while Washington was in office. Like most of the Waterfront District east of Lee Street, Fitzgerald’s Warehouse sits on land that was made by filling in the marshland that originally occupied the site.
In this case, Fitzgerald and his business partner, Valentine Peers, bought the land in 1778, and by 1781 they had “banked out” the property and divided it between them. Along with its warehousing activities, Fitzgerald’s Warehouse reflected its maritime connections in other ways. An advertisement in the February 8, 1798, issue of the Columbia Mirror and Alexandria Gazette announces that sail maker Daniel McDougall was moving his business to the loft in Col. Fitzgerald’s warehouse. Although his death in 1799 prevented John Fitzgerald from making significant use of the building himself, the Fitzgerald Warehouse has been a fixture on the Alexandria Waterfront for more than two hundred years.
