Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels
Sunday was the last day for the longtime Starbucks coffee shop on the corner of U.S. 41 and Central Avenue in downtown Naples. The location at 1 Tamiami Trail S. had operated for nearly 20 years as an anchor in that corner retail strip. No plans are pending for a new Starbucks location nearby, but regionally-based Narrative Coffee Roasters, which launched its first brick-and-mortar location last year at Mercato in North Naples, has a second planned to open soon at Eleven Eleven Central, within walking distance of the recently closed Starbucks in Naples. Last year, the Seattle-based Starbucks, which operates more than 15,000 locations in the United States, announced it was closing hundreds of underperforming or less profitable locations this year. The ubiquitous chain began shifting to more drive-thru locations even before the pandemic but is accelerating this movement because of a noticeable trend for more contactless convenience.