Last year, Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar embarked on what has become a fascinating little quest: to bring a coffeehouse to Boyle Heights.
It's not just because Huizar needs a morning jolt. He believes a coffee shop would help reinvigorate the neighborhood, and has even had a few nibbles of interest from a rotating cast of Starbucks officials.
Now comes the news that Starbucks is opening a second store on a single block of trendy Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. The new store -- which replaces a Diedrich Coffee -- will be the \o7fourth\f7 Starbucks in a \o7seven-\f7block stretch of Montana.
In a story in this space last year, we asked Starbucks officials if demographics played a role in locating stores -- since Starbucks tend to be clumped in certain parts of town.
Nope, the officials said. Race and residents' income don't come into play. Bigger concerns, they said, were parking and whether a location lent itself to the "Starbucks experience."
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Any difference in the demographics between Santa Monica and Huizar's 14th District?
Just for giggles, we looked up the Census Bureau statistics for the two areas. The 14th District includes Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Hermon and parts of Highland Park, Glassell Park and Mount Washington.
Santa Monica
Starbucks: 17 in eight square miles
Population: 87,800
Race: white, 78.3%; Latino, 13.4%; Asian, 7.3%; black, 3.8%
Median household income: $50,714
Council District 14
Starbucks: two in 23 square miles
Population: 235,036
Race: Latino, 72.4%; white, 11.1%; Asian, 10.6%; black, 4.1%
Median household income: $33,806
No differences there, eh?
"Diedrich chose to exit this location," said Kimberley Thompson, a Starbucks operations manager in Southern California. "We have a unique opportunity -- instead of opening a new location, we are offering this location to customers so they can have the Starbucks experience."
Thompson said Starbucks has been a leader in putting stores in urban areas, citing the 17 stores in such communities as Bell, Huntington Park and South Gate.
And, Thompson said, Starbucks is committed to finding the right location in Boyle Heights, but finding the right location remains a challenge.
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What's Huizar have to say?
He's actually diplomatic about it, given that Starbucks has shown some interest and is building a new store in nearby East Los Angeles.
