Photo: Carl Stevens (WBZ)
CHELSEA, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — This particular Starbucks offers more than a cup of coffee or a pastry.
The coffeeshop at 164 Everett St. in Chelsea is a Starbucks Community Store, a special kind of establishment that gives employees the opportunities and flexibility to support their community.
The store opened last month and is the first Community Store in Massachusetts and the 31st overall in the country.
"Let's work together. Let's grow stronger. Let's build on the love that's already here. This community store is dedicated to Chelsea," reads a message on a sign inside in both English and Spanish.
This month, the store has promoted volunteering at a senior center, celebrating at a local block party, and getting involved with a weekend park cleanup.
"It actually makes me feel like, okay, they’re giving something back, so why wouldn’t I come here and support the business," one customer said. "Just knowing that they’re actually giving something back to the community makes me want to come more often."
"Chelsea is such a small community, so anything they can do to make it better or just garner that sense of community is great," said another customer. "And I love Starbucks, I come here every day, so it’s even better knowing that I’m supporting something that’s good in this community."
Starbucks said in 2022 that it plans to expand its Community Store concept to 1,000 locations by 2030.
WBZ's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.
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