Downtown Chico Continues to Perform as Retail Models Change Nationwide
- Chico PBID
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eric Hart, President, Downtown Chico Property-Based Improvement District (PBID), 530.519.2661
For nearly 27 years, Starbucks’ downtown Chico location served as a steady presence — a place used daily by workers, students, and visitors, and one of the few national brands to ever operate in the downtown core. Its long tenure reflects the fact that downtown Chico supported a successful store for decades.
The decision to consolidate the downtown store into Starbucks’ newer Mangrove Avenue location is not related to performance, parking, safety, or homelessness. Rather, it reflects a broader corporate strategy that has been underway for several years, as Starbuck has shared publicly it is refocusing on updated store formats and a return to what originally defined the brand. The Mangrove location represents that next chapter.
"Starbucks isn’t leaving because downtown failed them," said Eric Hart, downtown property owner and President of the Downtown Chico Property-Based Improvement District. "They’re evolving as a company — just as downtowns and retailers everywhere are adapting to changing times."
"Downtown Chico has never been defined by national chains," said Hart. “What people have long cherished about downtown is exactly the opposite: locally owned, independent businesses with strong ties to the community. Starbucks was the exception — not the model.”
Downtown Chico, like many downtowns nationwide, is navigating change and challenges. These changes are real and require thoughtful responses. But they also reinforce a long-standing truth: downtown’s strength has never been about being an urban center filled with national brands. It has been about character, local investment, and businesses that feel uniquely Chico.
“We should lean into what has always made downtown special. Transitions like this open the door for local or regional businesses that reflect Chico’s creativity, independence, and sense of place,” said Hart. “This next year we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
This transition is not an ending — it is a reminder of what downtown has always been, and an opportunity to lean into that identity as the next chapter takes shape.
###
