Rockford to get first-ever downtown Starbucks store

Justin Fern's Urban Equity Properties is bringing an international coffee chain to downtown Rockford and reviving a dormant corner of downtown .

Fern — who said he was told he would never be able to lure a national tenant to downtown Rockford — on Friday announced Starbucks will open a 1,700-square-foot café inside State & Main, 211 W. State St.

"It wasn’t easy, but we're there," Fern said. "It's going right here at State & Main in this building on the ground floor. And it will be, I should mention, one of the coolest Starbucks designs that anyone has seen."

Urban Equity Properties is investing in an estimated $4.1 million rehabilitation of the long-vacant 11,770-square-foot mixed use Art Deco building . There is space for a second retailer on the ground floor. It will feature modernized loft offices on the second and third floors.

Construction of the Starbucks is expected to be done in November. It is hoped the store will open by Stroll on State on Nov. 30.

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Fern said there is enough room in the marketplace for both independent coffee shops and retailers and national chains in the downtown.

And he said the store will be open seven days a week.

"That's what we need downtown," Fern said. "We need businesses open on Saturdays and Sundays."

Ald. Gabrielle Torina, D-5, said that what she hears from people is that there aren't enough businesses open downtown on weekends. Torina said it could be the impetus other business owners need to follow suit.

"It's amazing," Torina said. "We are finally seeing our dreams come true in this city, and it's so exciting."

Other cities like Grand Rapids, Madison, Geneva, and Evanston that Rockford could benchmark itself against have mixes of independent and national retailers downtown, said Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO John Groh, who is also the president of the River District Association.

"So I think from a perspective of welcoming a new business, we're thrilled to have Starbucks coming into downtown," Groh said. "To see this corner reactivated is huge."

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey .

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This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford to get first-ever downtown Starbucks store