A new type of Starbucks coffee shop was dedicated in Springfield this week, with the company announcing plans to partner with regional nonprofits and provide space for local community leaders and artists.
Springfield’s first Starbucks Community Store was dedicated Wednesday. The location at 2817 N. Kansas Expressway, near the Walmart Supercenter, has operated like a traditional Starbucks since opening in September. The Community Store is open daily from 5am to 9pm.
The Springfield store has a designated “community table” for events and programming. The store will also partner with local chapters of Boys and Girls Club, Big Brother Big Sister and Springfield Dream Sister, according to a Starbucks spokesperson.
When asked what these partnerships will look like, a Starbucks spokesperson told the News-Leader they “will look different depending on their specific needs,” but the store will focus on youth opportunities, such as assisting with mock interviews. for students.
Most of the shops in the community include artwork by an artist from the area. An original painting by local painter Sarah Rasul is displayed in the Springfield shop. The colorful painting features a tiger for strength and confidence and butterflies for resilience, vulnerability, growth and adaptation.
“These images of my work at the Community Store represent connectedness and belonging in the Springfield community,” Rasul told the News-Leader. “We are united and connected on many levels. It is up to us as a community to learn and grow together for each other.”
Starbucks launched its Community Store Program in 2015. Community Stores offer the same food and beverage options as traditional Starbucks restaurants, but place an emphasis on giving back to the local community.
“These stores are intended to create an environment where Starbucks (employee) partners can connect, engage, and deliver purposeful, dedicated programs and experiences that support economic opportunity in communities,” a Starbucks spokesperson said via email. at the News-Leader.
When it comes to determining where a Community Store will be dedicated, Starbucks uses the Human Development Index to help identify communities with high youth unemployment, low average household income, and population stability, a Starbucks spokesperson said. .
The Human Development Index is used internationally to determine the factors that help humans live long and healthy lives with access to knowledge within a decent standard of living.
The first five Community Stores to open were in Chicago, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Queens and Ferguson. The Springfield Community Store is the 27th in the country, one step closer to the company’s goal of opening 100 Community Stores in the United States by 2025 and 1,000 internationally by 2030.
