By this fall, people could be sipping on Starbucks pumpkin spice lattés on East River Road in New Glasgow.
Greg Burrows confirmed that he will be opening a Starbucks location which will be built onto the existing Subway location on East River Road near the Aberdeen Hospital.
He said it is in the preliminary stages right now but they hope to open the doors later this year.
While there are many coffee locations currently in Pictou County, Burrows said he isn’t bringing this in as a way to compete with them but rather to offer something different.
“For me it was about bringing in another brand that I felt was sort of missing in this area that would create traffic for the existing Subway as well,” he said.
Currently, Starbucks lovers in Pictou County have only been able to enjoy the brand in Halifax, at the airport or in Sydney.
Burrows believes that the store may be able to catch traffic travelling through Northern Nova Scotia and give them a reason to stop in town.
While historically Starbucks has been associated with more urban centres, Burrows said the brand has grown in recent years and is attracting new customers.
Currently the plans are for the Starbucks to be approximately 1,500 square feet. It will be separated with a wall from Subway so they operate independently. For now, there are no plans for a drive-thru on the Starbucks.
In 2013, there had been a job posted looking for a store manager for a Starbucks in New Glasgow.
At the time Starbucks spokesperson Carly Suppa said the company was seriously looking at opening a location in New Glasgow. Nothing ever resulted from that however.
Another business move
Burrows is also busy working to move the location of his Subway restaurant in Pictou.
He is in the final stages of acquiring the former KFC near the roundabout in Pictou. Once the deal is finalized, he will be renovating the building to house the Subway, currently located in the strip next to Sobeys in Pictou.
He said Crombie Real Estate had an opportunity to bring in another business for that location and as a result he began looking for a new spot.
“They were great to work with us,” Burrows said of Crombie.
He said they are looking forward to the new location which will allow them to include a drive-thru.
He’s hoping to be in the new location in mid-summer.
