A new Starbucks coffee shop is brewing in a southwest Rochester hotel

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Jun. 23—ROCHESTER — A new

Starbucks

coffee shop with a focus on digital orders is checking into a Rochester hotel in the shadow of

Mayo Clinic's

St. Marys Hospital.

Starbucks signed a lease last week for a 1,263-square-foot spot on the corner of

Second Street Southwest

and 11th Avenue in the 101 11th Ave. SW in the dual branded EVEN Hotel and Staybridge Suites.

Paul T. Aronhalt and

A.J. Hawkins

of

North Rock Real Estate

handled the deal to bring Starbucks into the hotel.

"We've been working with Starbucks for over a year on this. It's a great location on that intersection," said Aronhalt. "It will be a great asset for landlord and for the city."

Starbucks, which has eight Rochester locations, is planning on using the space to introduce the Med City to a new Starbucks Pick Up concept. The streamlined Starbucks Pick Up is "exclusively designed for mobile orders and quick pick up without the wait."

Construction is expected to begin this summer with the new on-the-go caffeine shop starting to brew in late 2023.

Landing a Starbucks means General Manager Nancy Foster is filling some of the hotel's prime commercial space along Second Street.

"We have a lot of guests that are going in and out and it's literally right across the street from St. Marys. It's a perfect location for them and us," she said.

About 2,300 square feet of street front commercial space is still available in the hotel.

"We are looking for another tenant or two for that space. I'd really like to see some retail in there for our guests and all of the staff at St. Marys," said Foster.

The hotel, which

opened in September 2021,

was built on the

former site

of

Virgil's Auto Clinic.

The Nelson family operated a repair shop and gas station, founded by Virgil Nelson in 1952, until 2019. As the years rolled on, his sons, Bruce, Brad, Bob and Ronald Nelson, ran Virgil's as a classic, full-service station.

In addition to the two hotel brands, the EVEN/Staybridge property also added a new restaurant to Rochester's Second Street corridor in the form of the EVEN Kitchen & Bar.

The hotel is a joint venture between Napean Capital Group, Western States Lodging and EKN Development. The hotels are managed by Western States Lodging.