Closed! Adventists Shut Down Starbucks at GC
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Restaurants near the
Georgia Dome have been
creative in catering to
Adventists’ culinary
preferences by promoting
an array of vegetarian eats.
Great Wraps in the CNN
Center has offered a
selection of vegetarian wraps
to supplement its meat options.
A cashier at the Mediterranean eatery
guessed that approximately 90% of his business
this week has been selling veggie foods. A Taco Bell vendor reported
selling mostly vegetarian foods as well. Indeed, all across Atlanta’s
downtown,vendors are capitalizing on Adventist crowds. Veggie
hotdog stands have popped up everywhere.However, having
Adventists in town isn’t all good
news for Atlanta’s businesses.
Mark Geiger, Associate Director of Communications
and Marketing for the GWCC confirmed in a phone
conversation with SPECTRUM
that the General Conference management asked
Starbucks to shut its doors.
Initially, the coffee retailer had been open for business,
and owing to its proximity to the conference exhibit hall, received
steady business. Then, mysteriously, after the first weekend
of the General Conference Session, Starbucks stood shuttered.
The shop’s abrupt closure fueled numerous rumors among exhibitors
and conference attendees.
Some, noting that the closure coincided roughly with incoming
president Ted Wilson’s election, suggested that Wilson was
responsible. Others said
that enough Adventists had complained to Starbucks—
some versions of the
story even had GC attendees picketing the establishment—
that the retailer decided to shut its doors. According to another rumor,
General Conference management paid Starbucks what it would have
lost in wages in order to shut it down.
There are two Starbucks outlets inside the GWCC—the now-closed
location in building C of the Congress Center, and another far on the
other end of the expansive World Congress Center in building A.
The Starbucks in building
A (which opens into building B) has remained open for business
throughout the GC Session. Rajmund Dabrowski, director of
communication for the General Conference, told SPECTRUM that because the
General Conference rented only buildings B and C, the church cannot
control concessions in building A.
Geiger clarified rumors by noting first that the GC management
did ask that Starbucks in Building C be closed for the duration of the GC Session,
and suggested that
caffeinated beverages were the reason. Geiger denied that Starbucks received any
remuneration for closing its doors. He noted that the GWCC wanted to keep its
customer (the GC) happy.
Sheri Clemmer, associate meeting planner for the GC Session, did not
respond, by the time of publication, to several requests for comment.
Thursday morning, reports began coming in that the church had also forced a
menu change in the Terraces Restaurant, the exclusive dining facility serving the
GC inside the World Congress Center. A cashier in the restaurant, located in
building B, revealed that General Conference management had asked Terraces to stop
serving beef hamburgers. Before Thursday, the restaurant had served both beef and
vegetarian patties.
Caffeinated beverages are still available inside the GWCC. A vending machine sells
Coca Cola products, some of which contain caffeine. In addition, the Starbucks in
building A remains open, though business is relatively sluggish, according to workers
in that locale.
Sports bars and grills surrounding the Congress Center are also doing less business
with the Adventists in town. Dantanna's, a steak, seafood and spirits restaurant in the
CNN Center directly across from the GWCC, has seen its sales dip. The restaurant’s bar
has sat empty this week, and steaks and seafood have failed to attract the mostly
vegetarian visitors who have taken over Atlanta’s downtown. Luckily, coverage of t
he FIFA World Cup, which Dantanna's has promoted aggressively, has helped to
win back some customers.
