It is the final few days in business for the Starbucks on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Robinson Avenue in Hillcrest. It has become a longstanding spot for those who live and work in the neighborhood to get their daily caffeine fix, but next week it is closing permanently.
NBC 7 visited the Starbucks on Friday. The blinds were pulled completely down and there were no tables or chairs for customers to sit outside.
Inside of the store, a paper was taped near where drinks are picked up that said, in part, “On 6/29/2023 at 2:00pm, your Starbucks 5th and Robinson location at 3801 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103 will be permanently closing. We would like to thank you for being part of our store community, you are the heart of who we are at Starbucks.”
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“It looks like, I don't know, a fortress,” Benjamin Nicholls, executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association, said about the Starbucks location. “The store is completely empty of retail items because they were being stolen, the restrooms are closed.”
Nicholls believes the stripped-bare shop is, in part, because of an increase in people experiencing homelessness in the area. In a statement sent to NBC 7, a spokesperson for Starbucks was not able to confirm if that is part of the reason for the store’s closing but they sent the following:
“As a standard practice, we continually evaluate our store portfolio to ensure it’s meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve. Our last day at this location will be June 29. All Starbucks partners (employees) working at that store will have the opportunity to transfer to one of our nearby locations.”
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Neighboring business owners who work along Fifth Avenue told NBC 7 that the departure is causing concern.
“What am I hoping for? What am I doing here? What’s next for me?,” Luigi Vera, owner of the Luigi Vera Boutique in Hillcrest, said. “If the big corporations are leaving, what am I going to do? I’m a small business.”
Vera said he has been in business for more than 20 years, but the past few years have not been easy.
“I cannot go home peaceful and I cannot rest because, you know, I’ve been thinking all the time, what’s going to happen today?” Vera said.
He explained that he has had to deal with vandalism, as well as theft. His next-door neighbor is Bluestocking Books. They have not had to deal with the same issues, but agree that they have also noticed what seems to be more people who are unhoused and looking for food, bathrooms and a place to rest.
“Even people from town that haven’t been in for a while are blown away, that ‘it’s more like downtown,’ is what people will say,” Kris Nelson, owner of Bluestocking Books, said.
Nelson has a heart for people who don’t have anywhere else to go, but says their staff has had to make necessary adjustments.
“We basically work in a team now and that’s part of why,” Nelson said. “We’ve adapted to back each other up. We just try to stay defensive.”
Nicholls added he saw the area start to shift during and after the pandemic.
“I mean, people in Hillcrest used to complain that there wasn’t anywhere to park. There’s still nowhere to park, but they don’t complain about it anymore, they complain about the homeless and that’s pretty much it,” Nicholls said.
For Vera, he wants to stay in Hillcrest for many years to come, so he hopes to see the neighborhood bounce back.
“It’s really difficult for us to keep this kind of business,” Vera said. “It’s not a life, you know, we need Hillcrest back to the way it used to be.”
