NEW YORK—Over the last decade, Starbucks coffee shops have found their place in the heart of Harlem amid bodegas, street vendors blaring soul music, and hair salons offering braiding and weaves.
“People around here are used to 50-cent coffee,” says Mr. Von, who was born in Harlem and has lived there his whole life. He worries local businesses will close up as chain stores like Starbucks continue to move in.
Starbucks operates four locations in Harlem. There are two Starbucks shops on 125th Street, which has swelled with big box stores over the past decade. One location had all the seating removed last year to keep people from loitering. Before the seats and tables were removed, older men gathered to play chess and read newspapers.
“Oh Starbucks, you want our money, but you don’t want us,” wrote Delana R. A. Dameron, a local poet, in a blog post following the renovation. “I don’t believe I have ever witnessed a Starbucks of its size sans seating.”
But some Harlem residents see Starbucks as a boon to their community.
“It’s run like a first-class business and it’s a welcome [addition] to those people who live in the immediate area,” said Voza Rivers, chairman of the Harlem Arts Alliance.
Rivers said that the 145th Street location, for example, is a meeting place for all kinds of people. He feels Starbucks offers Harlemites a choice of a better cup of coffee, while smaller delis and bodegas still get to sell their coffee at a cheaper, competitive price.
Building Bridges
Starbucks is making an effort now to build bridges with the communities where its stores operate.
The store on Lenox Ave. and 125th Street in Harlem announced on Tuesday that it will share profits with Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC), a Harlem community organization, to the tune of $100,000.
The partnership is a test-drive for similar community-outreach efforts across the nation. A Starbucks in Crenshaw, Calif., is also part of the test-drive.
Abyssinian, according to Rivers, is a positive force in the community. A recent example of its work is letting 60 seniors attend a play in City College for free.
“The Abyssinian Development Corporation is doing things that connect to the community in other ways that are not so visible,” Rivers said. “Abyssinian needs sponsors to help make that possible. It’s these organization like the Starbucks and others who contribute to their general funds and make all of this possible.”
Following its opening in 1999, the Starbucks reached out to the kids in Impact Repertory Theater to invite them to sing at the grand opening. Following the performance, the company donated to $5,000 to the theater. Starbucks also extended an offer to put the kids’ music on CDs to be given out to customers during the opening week.
Friends Read Free