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By SHARON L. BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 28, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Starbucks may be on track for the BayWalk garage, but it has been canceled in the $9-million renovation of Albertsons on 54th Avenue S.
"We elected not to go ahead," said Jeannette Duwe, a spokeswoman for the national grocer headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
The reason, she said, is that the store in Seville Square is expanding many of its current services such as the international deli and the meals-to-go section, and is enlarging the store entrances. It needs the room Starbucks would have taken.
"Because of the space issue, we will not be able to do" the Starbucks coffee bar, Duwe said.
"The whole project is live all the way through," said Duwe, referring to the change. "Our expectation is that this is more in line with the needs of the neighborhood."
Some Albertsons grocery stores, such as the one on Fourth Street N and 38th Avenue, have added small Starbucks coffee bars.
The Seattle-based brewer is gradually making its way through St. Petersburg, either in company stores or as parts of groceries and bookstores. The store in the BayWalk entertainment complex garage is expected to open by the end of the summer.