By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — Rumors brewing about a new Starbucks opening in the neighborhood have been greatly exaggerated.
Despite persistent online speculation that a new outpost of the coffee chain may be opening east of its current East Village location on Second Avenue, the company confirmed that no new Starbucks are currently planned for the area.
An item on the local news site Neighborhoodr ruminating on the possible arrival of a new coffee shop at a vacant storefront on First Avenue near St. Mark's Place noted that it could be prepping for the Seattle-based chain, which has 193 stores in Manhattan alone, according to a 2009 report.
The building's owner, Martin Baumrind, declined to comment on any possible tenants for the property and would neither confirm nor deny the Starbucks speculation.
Then, blog Barney-Mugging reported rumors of a Starbucks opening on Avenue A — a plausible theory considering that a local study recently found the stretch had nearly 20 empty storefronts, or 13 percent of the block's total retail properties.
"I hope this is a false rumor," wrote commenter Stedman on local blog EV Grieve. "We don't need another Starbucks in the neighborhood."
Another commenter on the site, Glamma, simply stated: "GASP. NO. OH. MY. GOD...."
But a company spokesperson was quick to dismiss the scuttlebutt, saying that Starbucks has no planned store openings on either First Avenue or Avenue A.
