The Starbucks coffee shop located on the northeast corner of San Gabriel Boulevard and Huntington Drive that shares a parking lot with Trader Joe’s abruptly closed last Friday evening.
A note placed on a message board earlier in the week gave the only indication that the store was going out of business.
“We are permanently closed,” reads a sign on the front door of what used to be Starbucks. “Thank you for being a part of this community for 20 years! We hope to see you at a neighboring store.”
A work crew was busy inside the space.
Keith Glassman, a representative of Starbucks who has represented its interests in San Marino in the past, did not respond to two contact attempts.
San Marino Planning and Building Director Aldo Cervantes told The Tribune he did not recall Glassman mentioning the Pasadena Starbucks location during recent presentations on the San Marino Starbucks to the city. He first heard about the Pasadena location closing via “a rumor.”
An online customer service representative of Starbucks, Juan O., said he was unable to provide reasons on why the store closed.
Meanwhile, teachers and other staff members at San Marino’s Carver Elementary School, which is located directly across the street, were upset at the news, as many said they visited the coffee shop on an almost daily basis.
