It’s a sign of the times when not even Starbucks can make a buck. They’re the number 1 seller of legal drugs in the US (at least that’s what I like to say). But when people can’t afford their rent, they’re not about to pay $4 for a coffee. Although many complain about the Starbucks chain, others see it as a sign that hope of economic vitality. In certain areas such as South LA it’s a sign of approval for their neighborhood. It’s a small step –possibly not the best step– but it’s something.

Now with a recession choking customers, people can no loner afford these signs of hope. Recently put in Starbucks are having to close down due to the lack of customers. A total of 88 stories, mainly in inner cities will be shut. One man sits near Exposition Park and talks about his new favorite store being shut done. LA.Times.com reports:

“I remember the first time I saw it,” he told me. “I hadn’t been back in the neighborhood for years. And I was passing by here, a corner I’d known all my life. And I saw a Starbucks. I was floored. I never would have imagined it.”

Chapel said he’d probably find a new Starbucks home — at 7th and Figueroa or University Village. But he’ll miss the feel of the one he was so delighted to find in his old neighborhood.

“It’s the one place, besides home and work, where you can relax,” he said. “You sit at the counter, chitchat with your friends or even with somebody you don’t know.

“It’s a comfortable place. A safe place,” he said. “And a chance for us to have access to luxury. Just like everybody else.”

The losers are those loyal customers who considered it a privilege to join the cultural mainstream, sipping overpriced Frappuccinos. For them, losing the neighborhood Starbucks is a rebuke that stings.

Sadly, Starbucks is not to blame. The two new South LA stores are hardly filled and rely mostly on outsiders for business. After all a big massive chain needs to pull in big massive numbers to survive and when it’s surrounded by people who need money for groceries not a $7 sandwich, it’s bound to happen. Out of all the 88 stories closing you won’t find any in Calabasas, Santa Monica, or Beverly Hills in trouble. It’s the places who are actually proud to have a Starbucks and that don’t take it for granted that are being punished. But Starbucks says that they are a store with heart, so what do they have to say about it.

CEO Howard Schultz is fond of telling reporters that the firm tries to balance “profitability and a level of benevolence.”

I tried calling company headquarters Monday to ask how that balance played out in these decisions. But all I got was an e-mail from a public relations firm, saying:

“Starbucks recognizes the potential social implication that closing these stores may have on the communities they serve. However, it is necessary to make decisions that will strengthen Starbucks U.S. store portfolio . . . and ensure long-term value for our partners, customers and shareholders.”

So much for benevolence.

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