The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The 45 Starbucks (Bahamas) employees impacted by the closure of four stores will not suffer any loss of income, it was revealed yesterday, as its operator bids to re-open them all by week’s end.

Inga Bowleg, director of business development for Coffee Cay Ltd, the coffee retailer’s Bahamian franchisee, said four of its seven outlets had been forced to close from Christmas Eve following the fire at the Soldier Road Industrial Park.

The blaze “completely destroyed” Starbucks Bahamas’ warehouse, and all the chain’s inventory was lost, Ms Bowleg confirmed to Tribune Business in a statement.

She added that this “impacted the overall operation... due to unexpected store closures”, and said: “With the assistance of Starbucks International, we hope to have all stores open for business before the end of the week.”

In later e-mail replies to Tribune Business’s questions, Ms Bowleg confirmed that the four Starbucks outlets forced into temporary closure were those located in Charlotte Street, Palmdale, the Atlantis Marina Village and Cable Cottage (Cable Beach).

She added that all had been closed since 4pm on Christmas Eve, apart from the Marina Village outlet, which shut its doors at 11am that night.

Ms Bowleg said that while the closures had affected 45 staff, “they will not experience any loss in wages”.

Coffee Cay, which is an affiliate of the John Bull Group of Companies, said it was unable to provide a value, or quantity, for the inventory lost in the fire.

But, while unable to provide a cause of the fire, Ms Bowleg said the Starbucks (Bahamas) franchisee had the necessary insurance in place to cover any losses.

“We are expediting shipments so that stores are adequately stocked to resume business as usual,” she told Tribune Business.

“We are going to great lengths, and indeed leveraging all resources, to ensure the speedy reopening of these stores as Starbucks serves as a ‘third place” to many of our patrons.”

The Starbucks locations at Harbour Bay Shopping Centre; the Melia resort at Cable Beach; and in Atlantis, Paradise Island, remain open.

The fire, which struck the Soldier Road Industrial Park in the early hours of Christmas Eve, also badly damaged the premises occupied by Bahamas Food Packaging (Bapak) and Ultra Pure Water.

Tribune Business was again unable to contact their principal, Glen Rogers, for comment yesterday.

However, as previously reported by Tribune Business yesterday, Bapak employees are now fearful for their future employment as a result of the blaze.

One posted on social media: “Am still crying. It’s Bapak Limited. It was our last day to work for us office staff yesterday until the New Year.. But that won’t be happening. I still can’t believe it.”

Another employee added: “Yes, Starbucks n’ John Bull warehouse all gone. We really out of a job on dis Xmas eve.”