Report: Starbucks Opening at 125 Division Street

Run for the hills, folks. Just a few months after opening an East Village outpost at 49 First Avenue, one of the last frontiers of old-school Chinese Lower East Side may soon get screwed by the same Seattle coffee corporation. Yup.

Alas, reliable sources are saying that Starbucks is headed for the sleepy stretch of Division Street between Orchard and Ludlow. More precisely, the adjoining rear commercial establishment of the recently-constructed condo at 136 East Broadway (aka 125 Division). There hasn’t been much in the way of activity here for years, but last week a handful of neighbors reported seeing some rustling onsite. For what it’s worth, the “store locator” on the website is devoid of any information.

Breathe – a Starbucks deep in the hinterlands below Delancey (BelDel, LoDel, or whatever the hell they’re calling it these days). Obviously the possibility of having a Starbucks here is detrimental to nearby indie coffee shop newcomers like Cafe Grumpy and Lost Weekend.

If proven true, these developments wouldn’t be completely surprising, especially given the swift gentrification happening down here of late. Seriously, have a look around; there are three hotels under construction within a block of 125 Division (i.e. Marriott, Howard Johnson, and unnamed inside Jarmulowsky).