The City of Emeryville will host a community meeting on Saturday June 3rd, 2006 at 10:00am at the Recreation Center at 43rd and San Pablo across the street from the Arizmendi Bakery. The last item on the agenda is discussion of Starbucks coming to the plaza at 43rd and San Pablo. Emeryville residents are encouraged to go sign up and voice their opinions.

The City of Emeryville is reportedly planning to place a Starbucks at 43rd and San Pablo, across the plaza from the worker-owned Arizmendi Bakery. (This in spite of the fact that there is a Starbucks some three blocks away, at 3839 Emery St.) Several years ago when the plaza was built, the city agreed under overwhelming citizen pressure to reserve the spaces in the plaza for non-corporate locally owned businesses. This is how Arizmendi, a worker-owned cooperative, came to be there. The city is apparently planning to go back on that promise and bring a Starbucks in. A post to Indybay says that the City Council will be meeting in a closed session on June 6th to approve the plan.

Emeryville and East Bay residents and supporters of worker-owned businesses are encouraged to contact Emeryville City Council members and register their opposition to the Starbucks and to the way it is being approved. If the Council feels enough pressure, it could delay the decision, or even cancel the new store. Read more

Arizmendi Bakery in Emeryville | Emeryville City Council webpage | Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC)