A Starbucks is being built at University Crossing Shopping Center in Starkville.
Ann Hooven, director of operations with RMR Investment Company, said the coffee shop will likely open this summer. RMR Investment Company owns University Crossing Shopping Center and will also own the coffee shop. In April, when construction is slated to be complete, the Memphis-based company will turn the coffee shop over to Starbucks, who will lease and operate it. The doors will open in July, Hooven said.
It is a 1,975 square foot structure that will include a drive-through window.
There is a Starbucks on the Mississippi State University campus in the Dean Colvard Student Union, and the Barnes and Noble bookstore also offers the coffee brand.
The new Starbucks will sit directly across Hwy. 12 from Strange Brew Coffee House, a locally owned business.
Speaking of Starbucks, in November this column reported that a Starbucks would be located inside the Courtyard By Marriott being built at 1995 Sixth St. N. in Columbus. Well, not exactly.
Here’s an update: According to J.J. Tabone, area general manager for the hotel, there will be restaurant inside the hotel called “The Bistro” that will offer Starbucks brand coffee.
Tabone said the hotel is scheduled to open “in late March of early April.”
Staying in Columbus, Serendipity by Valerie has moved.
For the last three years, the full-service salon and boutique had been located downtown at 423 Main St. They closed in late December to make a move. On Tuesday, the business opened at its new location in Jackson Square on Highway 45 North.
Valerie Taylor, owner, said while she enjoyed the downtown atmosphere, the new location is perfect. The parking situation, she said, is an upgrade over downtown options, where there is a two-hour limit. Most of Taylor’s customers can easily spend two-hours plus at the salon, she said.
A formal ribbon-cutting will take place at Serendipity by Valerie on Feb. 7.
The salon is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with later appointments available.
Lastly, there are more than 300 Love’s Travel Stops in 39 U.S. states and one is coming to Columbus.
Kenny Wiegel, building official with the city of Columbus, said his office has received and approved the plans for the convenience store’s construction. It will be located at 525 Tuscaloosa Road. Once a building permit application is received, the city is expected to sign off on it and work will begin.
As far as when the business will open, we can not say. Jenny Love Meyer, vice president of communications with Love’s, did not respond to a message by press time.
It will sit on an eight-acre spot and feature a restaurant. Preliminary plans indicate a Hardee’s will be the restaurant, but that is not final, Wiegel said. The travel stop itself will cover 11,000 square feet. There will also be a tire shop that will cover 10,000 square foot.
Each Love’s Travel Stop employs roughly 60 people, according to Convenience Store Decisions, a publication aimed at the c-store market.
This is Love’s 50th year in operation. The first Love’s was in Oklahoma. The company claims it will open as many as 30 new stores across the country this year.
Looking at Mississippi, there are Love’s in Batesville, Biloxi, Canton, Flowood, McComb, Toomsuba and Tupelo, according to the company’s corporate website.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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