The Starbucks location in Virgil is closing permanently.

A company official confirmed on Aug. 2 that the last day of operations for the store at 1630 Niagara Stone Rd. will be Oct. 17.

“After careful consideration, the decision was made to close this store,” Starbucks Coffee Canada communications manager Leanne Rizzi said in a written statement after being contacted by The Lake Report.

Store manager Maddi Langelaan, who has worked there for just over 18 months, confirmed 13 employees will be affected but that each one of them has been offered a position at other locations.

“No one will go without a job,” she said. “They all already have their new stores confirmed.”

Langelaan said in the year-and-a-half she’s been at the Virgil store, business has been slow.

“We don’t get a lot of people, unfortunately.”

Starbucks opened in Virgil in May of 2019.

The fact this was within a year of a complete shutdown due to COVID didn’t help the store flourish, said Langelaan, adding other factors also played a role in limiting drive up and foot traffic to the store.

“The construction on Niagara Stone Road really hurt us last year,” she said. “It’s just been a series of unfortunate events.”

Starbucks Canada has been restructuring in the last few years.

In January 2021 the company announced the closing of up to 300 stores in Canada as an acceleration of its five-year transformation strategy.

The shake-up included adding new drive-thru locations, the expansion of delivery and a pilot of curbside pick-up only coffee shops.

In her statement to The Lake Report, Rizzi expressed her hope that the Virgil closure wouldn’t affect customers’ decisions to remain loyal to the brand.

“We look forward to serving our customers at our several, nearby locations,” she said.