Friday, August 13, 2010

I Has a Sad

I. Has. Such. A. Sad. :(

Today, at 5 PM CST, after 16 years, my Starbucks is closing.

It was the very first Starbucks in south Austin, and only the second one ever in Austin. I have parked under the same light in the parking lot every morning, watched fellow regular Mark go into the store in his wheelchair and do the crossword for year after year after year. A friend and I hired one of the baristas away from this store because we loved her so much. She later married a regular customer there that she fell in love with. Those are my friends Kristin and Ben.

I always joked that if anything ever happened to me, it would be the employees and customers in this store that would call the police first. That's how big and regular a part of our lives this store was. We all loved all the small moments there, especially the American Idol debriefs and the talk about LOST. I can't remember the last time I had to actually say what my drink was.

The last two days, we scrambled to find out where the other customers were going so that we could still be together.

I've never ever been so sad to see a business close. Say what you want about Starbucks being a big chain, or there being one on every corner... This store was our community and our home, and our happy hello to every day. I pulled up every day, parked in "my" spot, and had that joyful, comfortable, "everything is right with the world" feeling.

Here's what it looked like this morning, when everyone was bravely trying not to cry..



Thanks a latte, Brodie Starbucks. You have no idea how much I will miss all of you.

xoxoxooxoxo


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12 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about your SB. I think it's great when we can thoroughly enjoy and love the communities around us - sounds like you all totally did.

    Love your sad kitty pic, and love the card - totally perfect!

    Best of luck finding your new location, building community anew, and maintaining dear relationships.

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  2. Oh, noz! What WILL you do? Hopefully these fine folks will be adopted by another sbux and you can change your morning walk to go to that new location. So sad. Truly. ;(

    WV: gapla

    I'm trying to gapla the depth of sadness.

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  3. That's just tragic! I, too, have a favorite Starbucks I go to every day, so I can totally relate to your sad... I'm not sure what I'd do if mine closed!

    Same thing w/mine - sense of community, run into the same people every day, can't even ORDER my own drink if I have to go somewhere else (LOL!!!)...

    Starbucks has been my reason to get up and get dressed since I was laid off 8 years ago (and semi-retired) - I'd be LOST w/o my baristas!!! They've become friends...

    And say what you will, there's NO SUBSTITUTE for Starbucks!

    I hope there's another one close by, so you can all migrate there.

    Sam Slimak

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  4. It's so sad. I can't believe that Starbucks, out of them all are closing.

    *sniff*

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  5. This made me cry :(

    {{{{{hugs}}}}}

    Love the card! :)

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  6. Oh Lydia, I'm sorry about your SB closing! Where are the employees going? Are they going to other stores? Where are you gonna get your SB now? I love your card, btw!

    I have to say that I save money with my Keurig - I was getting much too hooked on my Iced Venti Skim Caramel Macchiato and now make it at home. But I have to also say that I don't connect with other people (except my hubby!) that way.

    Hugs,
    Susan, aka Soozie4Him on SCS

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  7. My sincere condolences. Isn't it amazing how community springs up in a special place? And how sad when we lose that community. Hugs to you from a fellow SB regular.

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  8. That is a sad...I would hate if my local coffee shop closed..we know everyone there...get hugs and kisses from them. the other day we got a free pound of coffee!
    ((hugs)) I feel your pain! :-(

    WV.. IMMICK as in
    Im'Mick (sick) that your Starbucks is closing

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  9. Sorry that the store is closing! Big hugs!!!

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  10. I feel for you....You have been such an inspiration to me I thought I would cheer you up with a little award on my blog http://stampingdoc.blogspot.com/

    You may not realize but you put a lot of laughter in people's lives- mine especially! - We need more of you in this world!

    Lynda Lee

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  11. YIKES!!! WHY are they CLOSING?!!?? That's just... well... tragic, really! I'm thinking of you as I begin my journey with SB - I quit my job so I could take pictures and be a barista!

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  12. Oh that "is" a big bummer!
    Sort of like saying farewell to the "Cheers" gang a few years ago ... but in real life!

    ReplyDelete

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