The Wichita Starbucks that just voted to unionize is closed, but only temporarily
The Starbucks at Central and Rock was in the news last week after its employees voted to unionize, making it the first Starbucks store in Wichita to do so.
Now, the store is closed and gutted with trailers filling the parking lot.
But the two are unrelated.
The Starbucks at 8006 E. Central, which was Wichita’s first free-standing Starbucks when it opened in March 2003, is actually closed for a scheduled remodeling. A sign on the door says that the store will reopen Sept. 1.
This store also closed for a remodel eight years ago. In August of 2014, it was shut down for nearly a month while it got a new Clover brewing system.
This time, the store has been completely emptied of its fixtures, furniture and machinery. Crews were busy painting inside the empty store on Tuesday morning.
It was widely reported a week ago that employees at Central and Rock voted 9-6 in favor of unionizing the store, making it the third Starbucks in Kansas to unionize. An Overland Park and a Lawrence Starbucks went first, following a national trend.
Employees at the 21st and Amidon Starbucks also voted on unionizing in May, but that measure failed in a 5-6 vote.
On Monday, the Kansas City Star reported that a Starbucks on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri — one of the first stores in the Kansas City area where staff announced plans to unionize — abruptly announced it was permanently closing its doors. The company did not offer a reason for the closure of the store.
The Star reported that two other Kansas City, Missouri-area Starbucks — one in Independence and one at 41st and Main — voted to unionize in May and June, respectively.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 12:28 PM.
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