ChitownLiving | Chicago Real Estate + Life

The cliche’ for those in real estate is ”once you see a Starbucks planned for the corner, you know the area is up and coming.”  Ummm, yeah.  I guess seeing the trend late in the game is better than not seeing it at all. Received my daily Crain’s Chicago Real Estate Report and almost fell off my chair when I read that Starbucks has aggressive expansion plans in the Chicago area.  They plan to add an additional 250 stores in the area.  What I would give to know where the new stores are planned.  I can only dream. My first thought was how can this be possible?  There aren’t enough corners for more Starbucks.  While I can’t speak for your neighborhood, from my front porch, I can hit one of 6 Starbucks with a stone.  My biggest decision in the morning while driving to the office is which Starbucks to stop at.  In the Chicago Loop where Starbucks locations are everywhere, the company wants to add another 12 stores.  Some downtown Starbucks are no more than a few blocks apart.  Hard to believe but analysts say that Starbucks may be underrepresented in the area. From a real estate perspective, I would love to know where Starbucks is planning to add their new stores.  I am sure many would pay dearly for the info.  I know the folks at Starbucks are very bright, with a voracious appetite for data and crunching the numbers.  How do I know you ask, they were a client of the startup labor scheduling software company I used to work for.  They put our modeling development team through their paces.  Fantastic to see their belief in the Chicago market, and I am sure their decision is based on detailed analysis.  Perhaps they see a loss of business as they are unable to serve current demand … or they are forecasting increased demand as people continue to move into the city … or they have plans to expand into up and coming neighborhoods. Where will the new stores spring up you ask.  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, enjoy a latte at your nearest Starbucks, you probably won’t have to walk too far. Post Based on Article By: Shruti Daté Singh Crain’s Chicago Business Starbucks plans aggressive expansion for Chicago