JAMAICA — The neighborhood's first Starbucks is set to open Tuesday on Sutphin Boulevard.
Starbucks announced the opening of its latest shop over the summer, and chose the 89-00 Sutphin Blvd. location as one of the first for a new 100,000 Opportunities Initiative.
This program connects American corporations with unemployed young people and has a commitment to hire 100,000 by 2018, according to Starbucks.
Most of the Jamaica store's staffers live within a short distance.
"The majority of our partners [staffers] are from Jamaica," manager Alisha Wrencher, an 18-year veteran of the company, said.
They've spent the past four to five months training at other Starbucks locations across Queens.
The store will continue to work as a training hub, connecting with the Queens Community House and the YMCA to get 16- to 24-year-old residents ready to work.
"We provide class-based settings so they can train," Wrencher said.
The new coffee shop, which opens at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, features ample seating in addition to the training space.
"It's really beautiful," Wrencher said.
