杏吧原创

1st East Coast Starbucks closing

杏吧原创 has an affection for this Starbucks, since it's within walking distance of work. (杏吧原创/Paul D. Shinkman)
The Wisconsin Avenue Starbucks was the first one built on the East Coast. (杏吧原创/Paul D. Shinkman)
Starbucks apologizes for the closing. The strip center where it is located is being redeveloped. (杏吧原创/Paul D. Shinkman)
Inside signs tell of the closing. (杏吧原创/Neal Augenstein)
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, wtop.com

WASHINGTON — The first Starbucks store on the East Coast, which opened in 1993 on Wisconsin Avenue near the National Cathedral, will serve its last drink Sunday.

The is located in the first floor of a non-descript strip shopping center.

It’s been known to draw a number of well-known people in for coffee, including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton who was spotted there with classmates when she attended nearby Sidwell Friends School.

Signs posted on the store windows and inside the store offer “sincerest apologies” and thanks to “wonderful customers” who will soon have to find a new place to drink coffee and congregate.

The property owner has already started renovating the aging two-story shopping center.

Starbucks says it will reopen upon completion of the new Cathedral Commons Center, which will be anchored by a new Giant supermarket.

In a statement, Starbucks says it will “look forward to continuing to serve the Washington, D.C./Friendship Heights community that we’re proud to have been a part of for nearly two decades.”

Full disclosure: The java shop across the street from 杏吧原创 is a favorite among staffers. In anticipation of its closing, 杏吧原创’s newsroom has a new coffee dispensing machine, capable of making designer coffee shop staples, including espresso.

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