News / New Openings
Starbucks set to open on Wine Street
A businessman who opened three Costa coffee shops in Bristol without the correct planning permission has now transferred his allegiance to Starbucks and hopes to open a new cafe in a former bookmakers on Wine Street.
Stuart Montgomery was the Costa Coffee UK franchisee of the year in 2011 and 2012, but faced much local opposition after flouting planning laws to open cafes on Whiteladies Road, Gloucester Road and Westbury Hill in Westbury-on-Trym, which all remain open.
Undercover police were even revealed to be in the Gloucester Road cafe on its opening day in November 2011.
Montgomery’s The Ethical Franchise Guild have now submitted a change of use application to allow them to open a Starbucks in the former Creed Bet within Vintry House.
A social media campaign is already beginning in the hope of preventing the Starbucks from opening.
“The heart of @BristolOldCity, full of @bristolindies, will be soiled if @Starbucks join us,” tweeted Cafe Revival based in nearby Corn Street.
As of Wednesday evening there have been four objections to the application submitted online.
“Bristol city centre is notable for its many independent shops, including a number of excellent coffee shops in the immediate vicinity of the building to which this application relates,” writes Dr Rob Wall.
“Opening another Starbucks will do nothing but contribute to the homogenisation the city centre, slowly chipping away at its character. Small, local businesses which have grown in the city and which will stay in the city are its lifeblood and do a great deal to contribute to the local economy by using local suppliers.”
In recent years, Starbucks has closed more Bristol stores than they have opened such as their cafes next to Bristol Bridge, in St James Arcade and on Park Street.
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