Shop Talk: Ninth Starbucks opens, boutiques shuffle

NINTH STARBUCKS OPENS IN PALO ALTO … Starbucks apparently loves Palo Alto. The coffee company is getting ready to open its ninth shop in this city; this time it’s in the newly remodeled Edgewood Plaza, on Embarcadero Road near U.S. Highway 101. A Starbucks spokeswoman said the store is scheduled for an early August opening. Construction is currently underway for the 1,300-square-foot store. The announcement of the newest Palo Alto Starbucks follows the recent renovation of the Starbucks store in the Stanford Shopping Center. That one briefly closed so that workers could create a more spacious store that allowed for a larger customer area. Another new tenant, Genius Kids, is also scheduled to move into Edgewood in early September. Genius Kids is an accelerated learning center that focuses on young children. Enrollment is open to kids as young as 18 months. Other previously announced shops that will be moving into Edgewood are Supercuts and the environmentally friendly Blu-White Cleaners. They will join the two current tenants, The Fresh Market and Chase Bank.

TEA TIME … Too much coffee talk? What about tea? A Canadian company plans to open David’s Tea in early August at 318 University Ave. This downtown Palo Alto location is the former site of The Sports Gallery, which closed in April after a 15-year run. David’s Tea has made quite a name for itself in Canada with more than 100 stores in that country and an additional 17 locations in the U.S. Its popularity may be due, at least in part, to the unusual and large selection of tea it offers. In addition to the more traditional black, green and herbal varieties, flavors such as caramel corn, red velvet cake, and root-beer float grace the tea menu. The shop also carries a vast collection of tea accessories. David’s Tea is known for its trendy, contemporary-styled stores, displaying nearly 100 canisters filled with teas neatly along the walls of its stores.

BOUTIQUE NEWS … Gone from the Stanford Shopping Center is Juicy Couture. It closed last month as part of the company’s announcement that it is closing all of its Juicy stores throughout the country. That vacancy made way for Kate Spade to relocate its boutique at the former Juicy site. It’s a larger space for the shop, which is scheduled to open by the end of summer. Meanwhile, Kate Spade remains open at its current location in the shopping center. Town & Country Village continues to add new tenants. Jarbo hung out its shingle in late May. The Seattle-based women’s clothing and accessory boutique describes itself on its website as “edgy, modern and wearable … with European style sensibility.”

Jarbo manager Rachel Martinez said that word is getting out about the shop. “People have been very gracious. They’re telling their friends about us,” she said, adding that Jarbo is also getting involved with the community. “We will be partnering with Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto for a charity fashion show in July,” she said.

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. Email shoptalk@paweekly.com.