Target Renovation Will Make Merced a Five-StarbucksTown

Photo by steve Newvine

Merced has been called a lot of things by a lot of people. Some names have been positive, some names have been negative. In my latest book, I affectionately and truthfully call Merced my adopted hometown.

But by this spring, we may call our city a five-Starbucks town

That’s because the Target store near Merced Mall will add the coffee retailer as part of a renovation project. For those of you familiar with the layout of the Merced store, Starbucks will be located where the photo department currently is housed. The photo department will be scaled down to a self-service kiosk.

The express checkouts near that location will be moved to clear additional space for the Starbucks. You will not miss it when you enter the store from the south side, the side facing Sears. The news was given to me as I checked out recently, and I confirmed it with the manager on duty. Target will house Starbucks in a matter of weeks. This new Starbucks means that by spring, lovers of that particular brand of coffee will have a total of five locations from which to choose.

The other locations are:

• 425 West Main Street
• 580 West Olive Avenue
• 500 Carol Avenue
• 779 East Yosemite Avenue

Starbucks coffee

Adding a specialty retailer such as Starbucks inside an existing retailer is nothing new in business. The built-in traffic flow makes a lot of sense for both companies to come to terms on making that section of the retail space more profitable. Customers will likely enjoy the added convenience of a Starbucks inside Target. There’s something to be said about how the number and location of a Starbucks serves as an index for community growth and prosperity. Many believe the worst of the recession is now behind us, so it may make sense for some retailers to consider expanding their businesses.

In many communities, Starbucks is seen as sort of a barometer of business success. If business is doing well, they hire more people; with more people working, the likelihood of spending money on luxury items such as four-dollar specialty coffee increases.

And there may be a few companies who have been on the fence in terms of whether they should consider taking a next step in growing the business. Reasonable questions such as: is the worst of this recession really over, and will the economy stay on track long term, are likely to be raised. The fifth Starbucks coming to Merced may not be enough to get some business owners off the fence in terms of expanding and hiring.

But it may be just the right thing to bring about some optimism for the second half of this decade. Merced County still lingers among the highest in the state unemployment figures. The community could use a boost, and we’re not necessarily talking about a caffeine boost.

Let’s hope the soon-to-open Starbucks at Target will be a successful venture. Let’s hope this new venture will lead the way with expansion among local existing companies as well the starting up of new enterprises to serve customers here in Merced County and beyond.

If something like that happens, I’d be happy to buy people making the decision to grow their business in Merced a hot cup of coffee…either at the Starbucks in the Target Store, or at one of several other coffee shops that dot the community landscape.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

---

Meeting and Covering Mario Cuomo

Over the New Year holiday, we learned of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s passing at the age of 82.

Cub television reporter

As a former resident of the Empire State and a working journalist during most of the Cuomo administration, I covered the Governor during parts of his term.

My memories go back to the first time I met him in 1980.  He was Lieutenant Governor and I was a cub television reporter for station WICZ in Binghamton.  Cuomo was promoting some initiative from Governor Hugh Carey’s office.  I don’t remember why he was in town, but I remember arriving to the press availability late and dealing with a handler who basically chastised me for being late and effectively told me that when you snooze you lose.

Observing my argument that we could set up our camera and ask a couple of questions in a matter of minutes, Cuomo came over to me, smiled, and then told his handler that he had the time to speak to my camera and me.

I spent several of the early Governor Cuomo administration years living outside New York State, but by the time I returned to live in Western New York in the mid-1980s, the Governor had a well-oiled government machine.  He easily won reelection twice, and anyone who remembers the 1980s can hardly forget how his name frequently made the list of potential Democratic presidential nominees.

Livingston County Chamber of Commerce

By 1994, I left the world of television news and became an advocate for business as head of the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce.  Once again, my path would cross that of Mario Cuomo.

It was in the fall of 1994 when the Governor arrived at the Livingston County Government Center in Geneseo, New York to announce a package of state incentives to keep a salt mine operating in our community.

The Governor’s office and the State Legislature worked with the County on a package of incentives. The Governor, who was up for re-election, wanted to make the point that his administration cared about those jobs and cared about upstate New York.

As the deal was sealed, it was decided by the Governor’s office that Mario Cuomo, staunch Democrat, would come to the Republican stronghold of Livingston County to personally deliver the goods.

The Governor was in a battle for his fourth term against George Pataki, so there was little doubt that politics played a role in the visit.  But with a population around 65,000, the incumbent wasn’t going to win or lose the state based on how well or poorly he did in Livingston County.  But image was as important then as it is today.

As a guest for the ceremony, I got to the Government Center about two hours early to get a seat close to the front. As Executive Director of the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, I was in the audience to join with others in thanking the Governor and the Legislature for saving jobs in my community.

"We’re a family"

As he passed by me on his way to the podium, he shook a lot of hands including mine.  He started his speech by addressing the elephant in the room.  I’m not quoting him directly as it was twenty years ago and all I have are memories of that afternoon.  Here’s what I recall the Governor saying to his Livingston County, New York audience:

“You may be asking what am I, a Democrat, doing here in the hot bed of the Republican party?”  he joked with the receptive crowd.   And then, he became serious.  “I’m here because we’re a family, and this part of our family needs help and the rest of the family, the State of New York,  is coming together to bring that help.”

When he finished, he left amid a standing ovation and again he passed by me.  Again, I shook his hand.  I had only been on the job as head of the Chamber of Commerce six months, but I was filled with the satisfaction that comes from knowing things were going to get better for the community.

Within a few weeks, the Governor would lose the election.

About a year later, the original aid package was rejected when the original mine company pulled out.

But a new company was formed, and five years later, long after Mario Cuomo left office, a new mine opened.

But it was those words from Governor Cuomo some twenty years ago that still resonate with me; challenging us to think of ourselves as a family, and coming together as a family when one of us needs help.

Those were powerful words two decades ago, and words that still define former Governor Mario Cuomo.

Steve Newvine has lived in the Central Valley of California for the past ten years.