Date: Fri 02-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Starbucks

Full Text:

Starbucks Leases Former Newtown Pharmacy

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Starbucks is coming to Newtown.

The Starbucks Coffee Company has signed a lease with Richard J. Frankonis to

occupy part of the building at 34 Church Hill Road which formerly housed

Newtown Pharmacy and later was a temporary location for CVS.

Interior renovations were scheduled to begin this week with a targeted opening

date of August 18.

"All of the permits are in place," Mr Frankonis said. "Starbucks requires very

specific electrical upgrades, upgraded HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air

conditioning), all of which must be done before the store is ready to open."

Starbucks will occupy about 1,550 square feet of the 5,000 square foot

building. A dentist, Byron M. Filbert, Jr, will continue to occupy about 2,100

square feet at the rear of the building, and another 1,275 will be leased for

a professional office, Mr Frankonis said.

"I'm pleased to have a tenant -- there hasn't been anyone in there since CVS

moved out in May 1998," he said.

Mr Frankonis, who is a certified nutritionist and a registered pharmacist,

said he will continue to maintain a small office in the back of the building

where he will do nutritional counseling. A Newtown resident, he is the

pharmacy manager for Collins Pharmacy in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport.

Starbucks, which has more than 1,800 stores nationwide, is rapidly moving into

the East and has six locations planned for Connecticut. Besides a store that

has been open for two years on Federal Road in Danbury, there are stores

planned for Exit 2 in Danbury, as well as Salisbury, Ridgefield, New Canaan,

and Newtown. Starbucks already is looking for staff for the Newtown store and

ran a classified advertisement in last week's Bee .

"This will be a class A store, among our largest," said Kathleen Nagy Reilly,

a former Newtown resident who currently is manager of the Federal Road store

and will be the manager of the Newtown store.

The store will be open seven days a week and will have a staff of at least 12

including shift supervisors, she said.

"The shifts are for four to eight hours and the hours are very flexible --

great for working mothers," Ms Reilly said. "Persons who work 20 hours or more

receive benefits, with 25 percent paid by the company. There's a great

opportunity for management, too, with in-house training and a good salary

while you learn."

Besides coffee espresso drinks, the store will feature frappucinos -- flavored

coffee beverages served over ice -- and a concentrated fruit and black tea

drink called a tiazzi. The store will sell pastries, coffee beans, retail

items such as travelers mugs and glassware, and many other houseware items.

"It will be a home away from home -- a place to meet your friends and relax,"

Ms Reilly said. "Eventually we even plan to have entertainment."