— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The Lehigh Valley’s newest Starbucks is open.
The coffee chain’s store on Easton Avenue, near the intersection with Stefko Boulevard, was serving customers Saturday.
An earlier plan was for Starbucks to open about a half-mile to the east in Bethlehem Township, in the small square lot on Easton Avenue near the Giant grocery store. The plan changed last year in favor of the City of Bethlehem site. The location has the advantage of parking and there was no need for another entrance onto the street.
The new Starbucks sets up an interesting rivalry with Wawa, a block to the east on Easton Avenue.
The Easton and Stefko intersection is a fast-food mecca. Chipotle is going up nearby, at the former site of Wells Fargo. KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Taco Bell, among others, are within a couple hundred yards of each other.
The stores will benefit from new housing. A 61-unit apartment complex is going up across the street from the Giant shopping center, and another 220 units will be available at the old Bethlehem Drive-In theater on the Bethlehem Township side of the border.
Seattle-based Starbucks was founded in 1971. It operates more than 39,000 stores worldwide.
Shares in the company are traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SBUX. The closing price Friday was $97.36, giving the company a market capitalization of $110.3 billion.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 