Starbucks brewing up expansion in South Carolina

Starbucks brewing up expansion in South Carolina Starbucks Coffee Co. said it would build a new roasting facility in St. Matthews in Calhoun County, S.C.
   Construction on the roughly 150,000-square-foot facility, which is about 15 miles from Columbia, is scheduled to begin by the end of this year. Operations are planned to begin in early 2009.
   “This new facility will help us meet increasing demand for our premium coffees, and allows us to support our growth in the Southeast,” said Peter Gibbons, senior vice president, manufacturing.
   When operating at full capacity, the plant will create about 160 new full-time positions.
   The new Calhoun County facility will house equipment and operations to receive, roast, package and ship Starbucks coffee to distribution centers servicing company-operated stores, licensed stores and wholesale accounts around the U.S. Southeast.
   Starbucks serves the Southeast from roasting plants in York, Pa., and Carson City, Nevada. The company also has roasting facilities in Kent, Wash., and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
   The company has about 50 company-operated and licensed retail locations in South Carolina with more than 2,200 stores in the U.S. southeastern region, comprising West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky.