Turlock is opening a brand-new Starbucks; the eleventh Starbucks store in Turlock located on Monte Vista and Crowell: address for it is 1100 W. Monte Vista Avenue. This Starbucks is being built in the corner shopping center in front of the Rite Aid that has recently closed down. Now, Dutch Bros and Starbucks have a mini competition – since Dutch Bros and the new Starbucks will be across the street from each other.
Starbucks is one of the most popular – and one of the biggest – companies worldwide. The first Starbucks was founded by teachers Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl in Seattle, Washington. The name was inspired by the character Starbuck from Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick.
This new Starbucks is a brand-new addition to the Turlock District of Starbucks stores. It is set apart by its unique qualities no other individual Starbucks in the field has.
I am a current partner at Starbucks and I chose to interview my boss, Starbucks store manager, Dan Ismael to get his professional insight on our new store!
What inspires you to work as a Starbucks Manager?
Ismael: “Okay, so the thing that I think that inspires me the most to be a Starbucks manager is what Starbucks is philosophically and what we tangibly do in our store every day. It really heavily aligns with the things that are most important to me within my values and things that I think are the most important, which is really taking care of people the right way, doing everything with a lot of character and integrity, and also making a really positive impact on others. Using you as an example, as of graduating high school or going to college and all that stuff, anything I can do to possibly affect your future in that way, that’s super duper important to me. Not just because you’re a partner, because I want to make sure all my partners – specifically I can speak to this just for myself – that I care about those people beyond them just being an employee of mine, they’re part of my family and then all the partners will become a part of that. So, I think that’s the first thing I would say about why I feel so inspired to be a manager of Starbucks.”
What encourages/inspires you to become the lead of the brand new Starbucks location?
Ismael: “I’d say what encourages and inspires me to lead the brand new Starbucks location is first of all it’s the first store in the entire market which is probably good two or three hour radius of this part of the Valley that is designed the way that that store is designed. The double point drive through, sirens [logo], and bar setup. The inside design of the store, [has a lot of] attention to detail. It’s almost like someone when they design their house, putting a lot of love and a lot of like different things into the store that maybe someone might just not do, just like throw a building together so “here it is, let’s go make money.” Obviously there’s a thought process involved that really is designed around that part of the mental process of it, but I think with that new store specifically it’s going to be kind of become like a beacon. A Starbucks in the Valley that you know you have to drive really far away to find another store like that. And what really is going to become really important is by basically finding a group of partners, including yourself, that are going to become the heart and soul of the store. And that’s going to make it feel like you’re going to your favorite aunt’s house for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The kind of experience we’re going to create for our customers is definitely a really, really unique opportunity. Being able to lead the store of Starbucks is a huge opportunity, it doesn’t come all that often. Obviously, there are a lot of Starbucks; they open stores pretty consistently. Not like you’re opening another store, a new store, every single week or month or year. This opportunity is something that we’re going to start fresh – we get to really set a standard, really become a trailblazer in a way that we’re the first store that looks like our store, that runs like our store, and that the people that are working inside that building are family. We take care of each other so we can do a great job taking care of our customers. And I think at the end of the day, it’s really why I’m so passionate about leading that new store, because all the things that it’s going to become and what it’s going to represent for the rest of the stores in our district and for Starbucks in general. So I really, really truly believe in that.”
How will this new store benefit the Starbucks District here in Turlock?
Ismael: “I definitely think, number one, it’s going to be kind of a training/test store where a lot of partners will go to that store to like, learn how to use the siren cold bar beverage system, how to use the water points and stuff like that, like the dual order point in the [drive-thru]. The store will serve as a hub for partners to increase their knowledge base and improve capabilities overall.”
The Starbucks is set to open for September 26th, 2025. The idea for this new Starbucks has been in the news for about three years, and now it’s finally almost done!
I am extremely proud and honored to be a partner at Starbucks and for the amazing opportunity of being a part of the Starbucks family while having the most amazing managers and co-workers working beside me.