So much for there being a Starbucks on every corner. Because today the company announced it's shuttering "approximately 600 underperforming company-operated stores" in the U.S. -- only, it hasn't announced where, not yet. That may come in a few minutes: At 4:30, Pete Bocian, the coffee seller's chief financial officer, will take part in an investors' Web cast you can eavesdrop on here. Likely, a spokesman tells Unfair Park, they will know more specifics by month's end, when the company releases its third-quarter earnings. Till then, I'm gonna finish this very nice cup of Pike Place Roast Feldman just brought back from the Starbucks across from Eatzi's, at Oak Lawn and Rawlins, and hope that one's not a company-operated store. Oh, wait, it is: Starbucks don't franchise.
Update: Our favorite barista points us to this story, via Starbucks Gossip, concerning the company's ditching of those CD racks gathering dust. Word is, in a couple of weeks the company will be putting every single CD and DVD on sale at a deep, deep discount at a location near you. --Robert Wilonsky