Starbucks

I, and many others, have experienced the uniqueness and small-town quality Montrose Shopping Park has had to offer for many years. However, with the proposed addition of Starbucks, we could lose that and it could become just another mall (“Proposed Starbucks stirs up Montrose,” Sept. 9). Do we really need a Starbucks, especially one that is located only a few blocks from another coffee shop? Even though Trader Joe's is opening soon and considered a chain store, it is based in Southern California, has a hometown feel and will be serving as an anchor for the shopping park, whereas Starbucks is an international chain, based in the state of Washington and would be located in the middle of the shopping park.

For the past couple of months, there has been a great deal of discussion about having a Starbucks coffeehouse open near another franchise coffeehouse, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, in Montrose. (“Starbucks tries to woo business owners, Oct. 7). Montrose residents and merchants are proud that Honolulu Avenue is the home of many mom-and-pop stores. With the possible inclusion of Starbucks on Honolulu, I would like to ask the “locals” if they truly believe in the free marketplace and competition.

A woman in her 50s accidentally hit the accelerator of her car, slamming it into a Starbucks at Western Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard at about 8:30 a.m., sending three people to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known, although police officials say they included lacerations and complaints of pain. One patient was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank and two were transported to Glendale Memorial Hospital.

A 63-year-old Glendale man was arrested Monday after he allegedly brandished a knife at a woman in a Starbucks parking lot after she confronted him about an unpaid loan, police said. Vahik Avaness was taken into custody on suspicion of brandishing a knife and making threats, according to Glendale police reports. He was released later that day. The woman allegedly saw Avaness sitting in his Toyota Camry about 1 p.m. and decided to block him in with her Nissan Altima in the Starbucks parking lot on the 1700 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard.

For a city about to proclaim itself as animated, there is not much going on these days. I realize it's the “dead of winter,” but do we always have to embody the “dead” part so much? To tell the truth, slow news weeks are where we local columnists really earn our money. Believe it or not, it takes real effort to make the potential opening of a new Starbucks seem controversial, much less interesting. Just read for yourself. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised anyone would decry the coffee shop's invasion into the otherwise sleepy little shopping area known as Montrose Village.

Tim Willert GLENDALE CITY HALL -- Zoning administrator Edith Fuentes will hear cases at 9:30 a.m. today in Room 105 of the Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway. Fuentes will consider revoking a standards variance issued for Starbucks at 469 Burchett Street. The variance, granted by the city in April 2000, allowed the building to be converted into a fast food restaurant without the required number of parking spaces and no off-street parking.

Tim Willert GLENDALE CITY HALL -- The future of a popular Starbucks coffee shop could hang in the balance after neighbors publicly bemoaned parking and traffic congestion and police warned of a threat to public safety. During a public hearing Wednesday to determine whether hisparking variance should be revoked, property owner Thomas Ortiz said the city made the right decision when it granted the variance in April 2000. The variance allowed the building at 469 Burchett to be converted into a fast-food restaurant without the required number of parking spaces.

Robert Chacon A local Starbucks is grinding some of its neighbors' patience. Residents on the 500 block of Burchett Street and Hahn Avenue say customers are taking all the parking spaces in front of their homes, parking in their driveways, eroding traffic safety, littering gutters and sidewalks, loitering and causing a general nuisance. The Pacific Avenue building that houses Starbucks has no parking lot of its own, forcing customers to compete for eight on-street parking spaces in front of the building before heading down the street.

In response to Wolfgang Krause, senior planner and zoning hearing officer, at the Starbucks hearing on April 10, 2002. Regarding the relocation of Starbucks' variance, a variance without the required provision of additional parking spaces, my question is, Mr. Krause, were you really at this hearing? I ask this question because Mr. Krause's statement, reported in the News-Press on May 18-19, is "There wasn't adequate evidence to support revoking it."

Tim Willert Despite the pleas of residents hoping to drive a popular coffee shop from their neighborhood, the Board of Zoning Adjust- ments on Wednesday upheld a prior ruling not to revoke a city-issued variance for Starbucks at 469 Burchett St. The board voted 3-1 to sustain a May 20 decision by Zoning Officer Wolfgang Krause, who ruled that property owner Thomas Ortiz did not violate the conditions of a parking...

An 86-year-old female driver crashed a red sedan into a Starbucks in Glendale after she pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake Friday afternoon, authorities said. A 65-year-old man sitting on the patio jumped out of the way of the Dodge Stratus, which hit the Starbucks at 1703 W. Glenoaks Blvd. at about 1:20 p.m. The man suffered a small cut on his head and another man who tried to help the driver cut his head on glass, police reported. All injuries were characterized as being minor.

The controversy over Starbucks opening along a strip of mom-and-pop shops in Montrose appeared to have subsided Thursday during a meeting of business leaders who applauded the coffee shop's new manager. The warm welcome was different than the initial reception given the Starbucks, slated to open on the corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard Friday. When Starbucks began planning to move to the Montrose Shopping Park, some retailers said the chain conflicted with the area's small-town feel.

I enjoy going to Starbucks and amidst the chatter of coffee drinkers and the grind of the cappuccino machine I manage to delve into a myriad of writing projects.  I also hear the laments of the customers as they wait for their morning brew. I gather from the buzz I hear from the parents standing in the long lines at Starbucks that there is a general dissatisfaction relative to who will teach their children.  It seems that no one is happy. There's much to be said about playing with the cards you're dealt with.

Two 16-year-old boys were arrested Friday after allegedly stealing a Starbucks tip jar containing $16.16, police said. One of the boys -- whose names weren't released because they are minors -- had been banned earlier that day from the Americana at Brand after he tried to steal a woman's purse at Granville Café. At the Starbucks in the 100 block of South Brand Boulevard, the boys entered about 4:34 p.m. and asked for water, police said. When the manager turned around, the boys the tip jar and ran out. The manager ran after the boys, who left the money behind when she confronted them, according to police.

A woman in her 50s accidentally hit the accelerator of her car, slamming it into a Starbucks at Western Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard at about 8:30 a.m., sending three people to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known, although police officials say they included lacerations and complaints of pain. One patient was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank and two were transported to Glendale Memorial Hospital.

Starbucks could soon start brewing in Montrose after a Glendale planning official this week signed off on an application that will allow the company to operate with fewer parking spaces than required by law. The permit, approved in a letter dated Feb. 1 by Planning Officer Laura Stotler, allows the coffee house to have 14 fewer parking spaces. Stotler also approved a conditional-use permit so Starbucks can operate as a fast-food establishment because the store will have more than eight seats.

For a city about to proclaim itself as animated, there is not much going on these days. I realize it's the “dead of winter,” but do we always have to embody the “dead” part so much? To tell the truth, slow news weeks are where we local columnists really earn our money. Believe it or not, it takes real effort to make the potential opening of a new Starbucks seem controversial, much less interesting. Just read for yourself. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised anyone would decry the coffee shop's invasion into the otherwise sleepy little shopping area known as Montrose Village.

Most of the roughly 40 people who attended a hearing Wednesday for a proposed Starbucks in Montrose expressed support for the coffee chain, arguing it would generate badly needed foot traffic for the mostly mom-and-pop business district. Starbucks wants to open a store on the southeast corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard. Company representatives appeared before Planning Officer Laura Stotler requesting a conditional-use permit to operate as a fast-food establishment because the store will have more than eight seats.

A 63-year-old Glendale man was arrested Monday after he allegedly brandished a knife at a woman in a Starbucks parking lot after she confronted him about an unpaid loan, police said. Vahik Avaness was taken into custody on suspicion of brandishing a knife and making threats, according to Glendale police reports. He was released later that day. The woman allegedly saw Avaness sitting in his Toyota Camry about 1 p.m. and decided to block him in with her Nissan Altima in the Starbucks parking lot on the 1700 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard.

For the past couple of months, there has been a great deal of discussion about having a Starbucks coffeehouse open near another franchise coffeehouse, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, in Montrose. (“Starbucks tries to woo business owners, Oct. 7). Montrose residents and merchants are proud that Honolulu Avenue is the home of many mom-and-pop stores. With the possible inclusion of Starbucks on Honolulu, I would like to ask the “locals” if they truly believe in the free marketplace and competition.