Starbucks set to come to the village next year
At a recent village board meeting, the board of trustees unanimously approved for a Starbucks to open up in the village. Starbucks, which will take over the current Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) that is on the corner of Willis Avenue and Jericho Turnpike, will be open in mid-2019.
With the new Starbucks, comes new store hours. Currently, the hours of KFC are 10:30 to 1 a.m. on most days. Starbucks along with a drive-thru will now be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Truck deliveries to the store would be daily between 10 p.m. and midnight anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.
Mineola resident and attorney Wayne Edwards from the firm Sahn Ward Coschignano PLLC in Uniondale who represented Starbucks at the meeting told the board that the company plans to do a complete renovation of the building, but more specifically inside. The company will also add new landscaping to the façade to make it more appealing than it is now.
The village Starbucks will have the typical 34-seat seating areas inside, which include tables and chairs, and a community table as well as soft cushioned chairs or couches. The new Starbucks will have a similar feel to the newly built Starbucks in East Meadow on Hempstead Turnpike, which is smaller with less seats.
Since the location of the store is on a busy intersection, the village board questioned Edwards about snow removal during the winter months to ensure the safety of passersby.
Representatives from Starbucks who were also on hand at the meeting said that Starbucks is solely responsible for maintaining the landscaping and snow removal. The village board emphasized that it was important for Starbucks to maintain the landscaping around its building and to also be vigilant about the snow removal along Willis and Washington Avenues, and Jericho Turnpike.
The issue of signage was also brought up by Mayor Scott Strauss during the discussion. The village board requested that Starbucks conform to the traditional wooden signs and lighting that the village has through grants they received. Starbucks currently has plans to continue with their signature signs and lighting—something that the board urged them to rethink about.
