Downtown St. Charles Starbucks moves across river

ST. CHARLES – A popular coffee chain has moved its downtown St. Charles location to west of the Fox River.

Starbucks Coffee is scheduled to open at 5:30 a.m. today at 101 S. First St., St. Charles, a company spokesperson wrote in an email Thursday afternoon.

The store will be open every day from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will have the Starbucks Clover Brewing System and larger community tables that can seat up to 14 people and are able to be reserved, the spokesperson wrote.

The store closed Tuesday at the 101 E. Main St. location within the historic Arcada Theatre building.

“Choosing a site for a new Starbucks location is a key element in providing customers with the Starbucks Experience, and we carefully consider many factors when opening a new store,” the spokesperson wrote. “Starbucks is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers.”

The move places Starbucks next to the First Street parking garage and across the street from the third phase of the First Street redevelopment project.

The St. Charles City Council this summer approved a liquor license for Starbucks, so the company at some point can offer craft beer and wine selections as part of its Starbucks Evenings business model at the new downtown St. Charles location.

Starbucks is in the “very early stages” of considering St. Charles for the Evenings menu, and the city-related paperwork is just one of the many steps it takes toward the process, the spokesperson wrote.

There already have been several inquiries into Starbucks’ former 2,355 square-foot space at 101 E. Main St., but nothing solid yet, said Neil Johnson, managing director/broker for the Geneva-based Sperry Van Ness/Landmark Commercial Real Estate LLC, which is leasing the space.

“It’s a really strong corner, and [at] the heart of downtown at a traffic signal,” Johnson said. “There’s every reason to believe a good, strong tenant will end up there.”