Starbucks breaks ground on expansion

MINDEN — Standing next to a freshly turned pile of dirt during a June 7 groundbreaking ceremony, Starbucks’ Carson Valley Distribution Center Director of Distribution Todd McCullough handed Starbucks Executive Vice President Hans Melotte a golden shovel and quipped “I don’t think this shovel will do all 700,000-square-feet.”

The groundbreaking marked the ceremonial start to construction of a $50 million, 720,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center expansion at the Starbucks Carson Valley Roasting Plant and Distribution Center in Minden.

About 100 million pounds of beans are roasted in the facility annually, said Liesbeth Geels, vice president of manufacturing.

The processed beans are then shipped throughout the U.S., Canada and China, said Starbucks Vice President Jim Wells.

The expansion will be built on the south side of the current 415,000-square-foot roasting plant and distribution center, located at 2525 Starbucks Way between Johnson Lane and the Minden-Tahoe Airport.

Construction on the project is slated to start in July, said Seth Maurer, president of Reno-based CORE Construction.

“It’s a real honor to be the design-build partner to Starbucks,” he said.

Starbucks’ original Douglas County roasting facility opened in 2003 as a 360,000-square-foot plant before expanding in 2005. It is located on a 100-acre site that Starbucks purchased for $4.6 million. Construction of the original facility cost about $40 million.

“This is a significant project for our company,” said Starbucks Executive Vice President Hans Melotte. “Support from the local community has been tremendous, so there’s no reason not to invest here … This further anchors our distribution in this part of the country.”