Starbucks preparing to construct a new location in Columbus

Fans of Starbucks are getting a new location in Columbus to satisfy their espresso and frappuccino fix or grab a bite to eat.

The Seattle-based company is wrapping up demolition of a former Pizza Hut restaurant at 1702 Manchester Expressway, with crews on Wednesday breaking down the remaining concrete in anticipation of construction. The Pizza Hut closed about a year ago, with the chain relocating just west in a new center anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market.

A city building permit dated Feb. 1 shows Starbucks Corp. spending just under $20,000 for the demolition. A worker on the site Wednesday did not know when full construction would begin. Starbucks, contacted by the Ledger-Enquirer, did not immediately respond to a request for information on the new location’s timeline for opening to customers.

It’s also likely that the new standalone Starbucks is a replacement for an existing outlet located inside St. Francis Marketplace on Woodruff Road, which is anchored by Planet Fitness. An employee on Wednesday said the staff did not know if they will eventually be relocating to the 1702 Manchester Expressway property, which is two-tenths of a mile west of their existing store.

A standalone location, of course, would give the fresh-brewed coffee chain a drive-thru outlet on a very heavily trafficked artery running through the city.

Starbucks already has a handful of locations in the Columbus market, including on Woodruff Road, Bradley Park Drive, Veterans Parkway and Ruffie Way, with the latter three standalone buildings. There also are three smaller outlets on Fort Benning.

The chain, in its most recent quarterly financial report, said it opened 700 net new stores around the world, with its total store count now at 28,039. The company posted net revenues of just over $6 billion in the three-month period ending Dec. 31.

“We are laser-focused on accelerating growth in China and driving improvement across the U.S. business as we move into and through the back half of the year,” Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Scott Maw said in the report.

This story was originally published February 14, 2018 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Starbucks preparing to construct a new location in Columbus."