Lightly roasted activities provided at Y ahead of Starbucks’ Dixon opening

DIXON – Starbucks will soon be opening its Dixon store in the Interstate 88 corridor.

The city has been trying to attract a national coffee chain to the area for years, and plans are to have a grand opening Aug. 19 for the new Starbucks next to Arby’s at 1650 S. Galena Ave.

[ Dixon Starbucks could be open within a year ]

As a part of the annual Starbucks Kindness Week and with the Dixon outlet opening on the horizon, store managers for the region and the Sauk Valley area hosted activities for children at the Dixon Family YMCA Tuesday.

The company picks a charity or nonprofit to give back to each year.

“We want the community to know they are welcome,” said McKenzie Newcomer, the assistant store manager for the Sterling Starbucks who organized the activities.

Children participated in different coffee-themed crafts, including gluing coffee beans to coloring pages and digging into a sensory table filled with coffee beans. There was also a balloon drop.

“We want to help our community and help our town grow, and we are more than excited to open in Dixon,” she said.

Newcomer said Starbucks is expanding into more rural areas, especially off I-88. A new Starbucks recently opened in Rochelle, and there are two in DeKalb that are part of the I-88 district.

Having a Starbucks will help bolster visitor traffic and tourism, as well as provide a cafe option for early birds, she said.