Hold the cream, the sugar and the coffee

Annapolis will lose one Starbucks as part of the company's nationwide cutbacks.

The coffee shop that opened last year at the $250 million Park Place development on West Street is one of 600 under-performing stores slated to close starting this month.

The area's four other Starbucks shops - located at the 1901 West complex, City Dock, Annapolis Harbour Center and Maryland Inn - are in the clear, according to a store closure list Starbucks released Thursday.

Starbucks officials couldn't be reached for comment about why Park Place was selected.

The store is one of a dozen Starbucks shops slated to close in Maryland. The other state stores include locations in Easton, Baltimore and Bowie.

The closure announcement comes a day after city officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening for eight Park Place businesses including Starbucks, whose representatives handed out drink samples.

Park Place Starbucks Supervisor Lindsey Redlin said yesterday she was notified a week ago that the store would close, but doesn't know when.

Park Place officials could not be reached for comment.

Starbucks is closing stores after it "expanded too quickly," said John Owens, an equity analyst for Morningstar, an independent investment research company.

"This particular store in Maryland is not alone," he said. "In aggregate, these stores were unprofitable."

Starbucks also was making "bad real estate decisions," not realizing the economy would be as weak as it has become, he added.

Mr. Owens said another round of Starbucks closures has not been announced, but "circumstances could change" if the economy further weakens.

Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, who was present at the Park Place grand opening Wednesday, said she's hoping Starbucks will reconsider its decision to close a store at such a new development.

She said a plumbers union is planning a move from Washington, D.C., to Park Place and "that brings a lot of employees to this site," she said. "I think that's important to know about that," she said.

Mike Miron, director of the city's Department of Economic Affairs, said he doesn't think Starbucks took into consideration that the plumbers union was moving to the development.

"That's a problem when they make these corporate decisions," he said.

Several Park Place tenants chalked up the closing to a corporate decision that isn't indicative of a larger trend at Park Place.

"I don't think it has anything to do with Park Place itself," said Laura Bevilacqua, owner of the Laura Bevilacqua clothing store which opened this year.

Chad Lipson, general manager for the Morton's Steakhouse at Park Place that opened in October, called the closing a "shame."

"I think it's unfortunate with Park Place being such a great venue," he said. "The more names that are here, the better we all do."

When asked about sales at Morton's, Mr. Lipson said the restaurant has had a "very successful first year" and gained a steady following of customers and businesses that entertain clients. "We've been very well-received by the community," he said.

Jackie Visconti, owner of The Papery, a stationary shop that has been open at Park Place since last fall, said she wasn't surprised about Starbucks given the nationwide cutbacks, but noted that her sales are lagging and the poor economy isn't helping.

"There's no foot traffic," she said. "The people who come in after 6 p.m. are just lookers, they wait for their tables."

Although her shop gained some good exposure from the grand opening event Wednesday, Ms. Visconti said she thinks there needs to be more signs at Park Place to promote the shops there.

Stan Constantine, president of the Baltimore Coffee & Tea, which has a location on Bestgate Road, said the closing of a Starbucks could conceivably mean more business for his Annapolis coffee shop.

"We have a lot of variety, which some of our competitors don't have," he said.

However, he said it saddens him anytime a coffee store closes.

"I feel there's enough business for all of us," he said.