First Starbucks to Open Inside a Food City Grocery Store in Arizona

Grocery shoppers in west Phoenix are appreciating the convenience of being able to sip coffee and iced tea as they stroll the aisles of their neighborhood Food City store at 91st Ave. and Thomas Road.

The grocery store, located at 9020 W. Thomas Rd. in Phoenix, is the first Food City store to open a Starbucks café in the state.

“It’s an honor to bring a brand-new Starbucks café to the inside of this Food City store,” said Mike Solis, Director of Operations for Food City.

“We are always listening to the feedback we receive from our customers and bringing a Starbucks to Food City is the No. 1 ask we’ve had lately. We love being able to make popular requests like this one a reality.”

“This new offering is definitely something to celebrate,” said Lynn Engelke, Director of Starbucks for Bashas’ and Food City.

“Through this Starbucks Café addition, we have added more than 20 jobs, but we are still looking to hire more team members for this space. We hope to open additional Starbucks cafes inside our Food City grocery stores in the future.”

Latinos continue to contribute significantly to the America’s landscape and economy.

The Hispanic population reached 62 million in the U.S. in 2020, an increase of 23% over the previous decade that outpaced the nation’s 7% overall population growth, according to the Pew Research Center.

According to data in the report collected by Claritas, nearly 33% of Arizona’s residents (2.4 million people) are Hispanic — with Hispanics making up 30.2% of metropolitan Phoenix residents.

The purchasing power of the Hispanic population in the state, according to the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, increased to $63 billion in 2020 compared to $57 billion a year earlier. Most projections show that the U.S. Hispanic population will nearly double by 2060.

Food City is an everyday-low-price grocery store for price-conscious shoppers.

With a more than-60-year reputation of service to the Hispanic community in Arizona, Food City carries aisles of traditional Mexican foods along with items found in a traditional grocery store. Food City also reaches out to the community by hiring people from the neighborhoods it serves.

The community-focused grocery store is known for holding car seat and water safety events, mobile dental clinics, back-to-school immunizations, backpack giveaways and other cultural celebrations. For more information, visit www.myfoodcity.com.