On New Ground

Story by Rebeca Heliot / The Oklahoman

When visiting a new city, Ellen Broadhurst and her husband, John, of San Francisco, seek out Starbucks coffee shops nearest their hotel. The couple have quenched their coffee fix in stores from Seattle to London. But when they stayed at The National in downtown Oklahoma City recently, there were no nearby Starbucks to be found.

“Usually, when we travel, we search out a Starbucks depending on where our hotel is unless we’re in really small towns where local shops are the only option,” Ellen Broadhurst said. Fortunately for the couple, both 72, there were local coffee shops close by. But their experience pointed to a downtown oddity. While Starbucks stores have become ubiquitous in city centers across the country, some having competing shops across the street from each other, they have been strangely absent from Oklahoma City’s downtown core.

That is about to change.

Starbucks plans to open its first coffee store in downtown Oklahoma City in Spring 2025, a company spokesperson said.

Developers at Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings, the real estate firm managing the project, already have begun construction for the new store at 100 Park Ave. Architectural renderings show the 2,786-square-foot café will feature a 54-seated indoor café with a community table, a banquette, and lounging areas with couches and sofas. The $800,000 renovations also include a 312-square-foot, 20-seated patio facing Park Avenue.

Although no drive-through will be added to the new restaurant, the design measures larger in comparison to the nearest Starbucks store at 132 NW 23, which totals 2,005 square feet and cost $250,000 to build.

Cindy Murillo, chief operating officer at Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings, gave 100% credit to Downtown OKC Partnership for helping convince Starbucks to locate in the central business district. The nonprofit manages the downtown business improvement district and serves as advocates, coordinators, facilitators and communicators for downtown revitalization.

“They were awarded a program called Placer ID through a series of grants,” Murillo said. “We were the Guinea pigs. We worked closely with them to coordinate traffic counts, walkability, pedestrian traffic. So, we were able to provide enough information to make this project.”

Many factors contribute to when and where large corporations like Starbucks decide to make an investment and depend on negotiations made with host properties, said Jennifer Nakayama, executive director for Downtown OKC, which manages and markets Oklahoma City’s Business Improvement District.

“Most corporate food and beverage establishments and their potential host property have negotiation terms that will determine how jointly feasible it is to enter into a tenant agreement,” Nakayama said. “Many factors play into those negotiation terms for both sides, and therefore each potential site is different and independent from the next.”

A blended consumer base of businesses, employees, residents, visitors and tourists, like the Broadhursts, make the business district an attractive area for new investment, Nakayama said.

“Customers are tried and true, but we know clients [who] come for business meetings from out of town and from neighboring communities seek out commercial [restaurants],” Nakayama said.

John Broadhurst agreed that most state capitals he traveled to had no shortage of the franchise stores. He added the chain was great when the couple traveled. Starbucks offers him a particular, refined blend while traveling that many local shops may not serve, catering to younger markets who prefer lighter blends.

“I’m a big coffee nut, and I like dark roast, which is hard to find,” John Broadhurst said. “I mean, we’ve been to Starbucks all over the country and even internationally. Even in Seattle, the nation’s coffee capital, and in places like London, we’ve been to stores there.”

Nakayama said the nonprofit views the new development with optimism. However, some small cafes in downtown worry the franchise might overwhelm local shops that can’t compete against such a large corporation.

Downtown Oklahoma City has many small restaurants and cafes competing in the same market. Among the coffee shops in OKC’s city center are Aravalli, Clarity Coffee, don’t stress meowt- Cat Cafe, Kitchen No. 324, Krave Coffee, Park Grounds, Sunnyside Diner, Stella Nova and The Gilded Acorn, according to VisitOKC. Not Your Average Joe’s, a Norman-based nonprofit with multiple national locations, also operates a store on Park Avenue in the same building as the Downtown Library.

At a local restaurant in the center of the city at 146 Park Ave., chef Dan DeGiusti, 48, spends his time at work baking pastries and lunch meals in the kitchen of the Gilded Acorn, while baristas brew coffee inside the main indoor area. Unlike Starbucks, everything is prepared in-house. Although the product differs, DeGiusti worries that a Starbucks so close by could take customers away from the restaurant.

“A Starbucks, just down the street — in the same building, but just on the other side — I think it kills businesses like [The Gilded Acorn],” said DeGiusti.

Although The Gilded Acorn offers more of a fine dining experience, DeGiusti said, despite The Gilded Acorn’s partnership with award-winning partner chef Andrew Black, owner of Gray Sweater and Black Walnut, that might not convince consumers who prefer to spend less time and money dining.

“People want fast and cheap,” he said. “Starbucks does that. They’re a chain. Everything’s made in a microwave.”

Food and beverage workers aren’t alone in their concerns. Downtown residents also want to see the local coffee shops thrive. Karina Cisneros, 45, a daily coffee drinker who lives across the street from The Gilded Acorn, said though she likes Starbucks, she prefers to support local businesses. As a local who walks past the cafes every day while walking her dog, she knows the restaurants well.

“I like what the local shops are doing here now,” Cisneros said. “I like that you have choices like The Gilded Acorn, which is more upscale, and then Stella Nova, which is more casual. I don’t know how I feel about a Starbucks here. It doesn’t really go with the neighborhood.”

Another downtown resident, Robbie K., who spoke on a first-name basis, felt indifferent about Starbucks’ new footing in downtown, adding he generally disliked the company and didn’t agree with its corporate values.

“I don’t do business with Starbucks,” he said. “I don’t drink Starbucks. I don’t eat Starbucks. But, I think it will do well here. The area is booming right now.”

Downtown employee Susan Greenwood doesn’t drink Starbucks, either. She said it was too expensive. Instead, the 60-year-old prepares coffee available to her at the kitchenette in her office. Her colleague, Dalana Seay, 54, said the new store will have plenty of customers, although she doesn’t consider herself one of them.

“People who like Starbucks really like Starbucks,” Seay said. “I don’t usually drink Starbucks,” Seay said.

“I’d rather support a small home business than a corporate giant. But, if they serve Dr. Pepper, I might go.”