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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Starbucks Expanding Into Idaho Coffee Giant Begins Work On Store In Coeur D’Alene

Starbucks Coffee Co. will make its first Idaho appearance in March when a store opens in Coeur d’Alene.

“It’s under construction,” said Jim Winger, a project manager for McKinley Contracting, which is building the Starbucks store in Ironwood Square at 212 Ironwood Drive.

“Coeur d’Alene is a pretty natural extension of the Spokane market,” said Susan Goodell, a spokesperson for Seattle-based Starbucks. “The closest we’ve gotten to Idaho so far is Spokane.”

Included among Starbucks’ 745 stores nationwide are five stores in Spokane. The company’s most recent Eastern Washington store opened in Pullman on Dec. 16.

Winger said the building plan calls for a 1,350-square-foot store in Coeur d’Alene. The store will have limited seating and will sell coffee mugs and paraphernalia, along with coffee drinks and coffee by the pound.

Among Starbucks’ new neighbors in Ironwood Square, just off Interstate 90, are Albertson’s and Payless Drug Store. ShopKo is across Ironwood Drive to the north.

Starbucks’ announcement did not cause consternation among Coeur d’Alene’s other coffee shops, which mostly are located in the city’s downtown shopping core. Store owners and managers said the quality of their coffee and their location would keep their customers loyal.

“A lot of business comes from location and view,” said Anne McKendrick, manager of Java on Sherman. “If I had a choice between looking at Sherman Avenue and people downtown, or looking at Albertson’s parking lot …”

“There’s quite a few people who come in and say, ‘We like your coffee better than Starbucks,”’ said Annie Kight, who works at Monarch Mountain, which opened in September. “I know we have a regular clientele.”

, DataTimes