Re: Starbucks site opposed by resort town locals burns down for second time in 'suspicious' blaze

[Diedrich Coffee]

On 13 Dec 2019, Benny <Not...@yahoo.com> posted some
news:XnsAB257D...@178.63.61.145:

> Starbucks coffee tastes burnt anyway. No great loss.

A standalone Starbucks slated to go up in a quaint New Mexico resort town
that opposes big chains burned down to the ground — the second time the
site was hit by a suspicious fire, local officials said.

Firefighters in Taos, the state’s popular art and skiing destination,
responded to the blaze just after midnight on Monday.

Eddie Joe Abeyta, the fire chief in Taos, told Taos News that the
construction site was “fully engulfed” by flames.

“It collapsed into the center,” Abeyta told Taos News.

The devastating blaze caused more damage than an Aug. 30 fire that
partially destroyed the north-facing wall of the building, according to
Taos News.

Graffiti denouncing Starbucks was reportedly found at the site — located
on an abandoned lot at the corner of Paseo del Pueblo Sur and Herdner Road
— in the aftermath of the first fire, according to local reports.

The latest fire has drawn the attention of the New Mexico State Fire
Marshal’s Office as well as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives.

Abeyta told The Post that the ATF’s involvement was sought due to the
federal agency’s ability to deploy more sophisticated means of
investigation, including a trained dog capable of sniffing out possible
use of accelerant to intensify the spread of the fire.

Starbucks operates two locations in Taos — one inside an Albertsons
supermarket and another in a Smiths grocery store.

However, local business owners fear that allowing national chains such as
Starbucks and Walmart to expand their presence in Taos will hurt their
bottom line.

In March, a coalition of small business owners, grocery workers, and
environmental lawyers mounted a campaign opposing plans to build a Walmart
“supercenter” in Taos.

Last month, Walmart was forced to close one of its retail locations in
Clovis, about 250 miles away from Taos, after a fire caused extensive
damage, according to local reports.

The fire, which authorities suspect was due to arson, forced state
investigators to divert their resources to Clovis while they were probing
the Aug. 30 blaze at the Starbucks site in Taos.

The latest fire has ignited a fierce debate on social media.

“I guess we don’t want to see other business, even small ones, come into
the s–t ton of empty spaces along Paseo?” wrote one Reddit user who
authored a post titled “Again, burning down the Starbucks.”

An anti-Starbucks Reddit user alleged that the site was burned “because
the people building it weren’t paying their contractors.”

The Post has sought comment from Starbucks as well as from Hart
Construction, the Albuquerque-based company that was hired by the
building’s owner.

The owner, an Arizona-based company called OTB-Taos, was not immediately
available for comment.

https://nypost.com/2023/10/24/business/starbucks-opposed-by-new-mexico-
locals-hit-by-fire-again/