Dallas' Original Starbucks Will Close Next Year, After a 30-Year Run

It says something about a patch of real estate when a Starbucks doesn't turn enough profit. Alas, that's the story at the free-standing coffee shop in Highland Park Village. First reported by The Dallas Morning News, after nearly 30 years the shop didn't get its lease renewed for next year.

This was the first Starbucks location in the state and the city, having arrived in 1994, about the same year the Dallas Stars moved to town. Honestly, this caused some personal confusion: they were both green, both had "star" in the name, both were new to town. Maybe hockey and coffee go together? I popped in to learn it was just coffee that smelled burnt.

Alas, a million Americanos later, the Starbucks at this upscale retail location has worn out its welcome.

Founded in 1931, Highland Park Village, an open-air luxury shopping center, continues to be a beacon of wealth in its Park Cities neighborhood. Hermes, Chanel and a lot of other places we never shop at all have a home there. Last summer the shopping center announced a roster of new tenants: French luxury fashion brand Balmain; the first standalone Texas location for Italian menswear brand Brioni; Spanish fashion house LOEWE; and Los Angeles-based line SIMKHAI. Other HP Village stores that are exclusive in Texas include Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, Celine and Goyard.

Restaurants new to the complex include Sadelle's, a New York-based bistro, and the Teak Room, a high-end tea room.

While HP Village continues to pander to the wealthy, Starbucks' growth plan has focused on pushing people through faster. The coffee shop was founded as a community space for people to sip good coffee and cappuccino. Well, just like horse-drawn carriages and landlines, those days are gone.

As a whole, Starbucks' financial roadmap is focused on "purpose-built store concepts" that "enable increased throughput to support increasing customer demand." Fewer tables and chairs, more pick-up windows and counters for all the shamalamadingdong frappuccinos.

Which makes its spacious Park Cities location problematic.

Victoria Snee, the marketing director at Highland Park Village, points to this change as the reason the lease was not renewed.

"In recent years, Starbucks has really changed its business model to more to-go and mobile orders, which isn’t conducive to our shopping environment and ability to provide the best possible customer service," Snee told the Observer.

The lease expires in February. As of now, there are no details on what is going in its place. Can't you imagine it will always smell like coffee though?