Starbucks closes store at Fullerton Waterboat House as lease ends

STARBUCKS Singapore has closed its store at the Fullerton Waterboat House as its lease ends, nearly six years since the store first opened its doors.

"Our Starbucks store at the Fullerton Waterboat House was closed on Feb 2 as our lease reached its natural expiry," the coffee chain confirmed on Tuesday in response to queries from The Business Times (BT).

That outlet has a partnership with Singapore's Autism Resource Centre to employ and train staff with special needs. Following the closure, employees with autism have been transitioned to other stores islandwide, Starbucks said in its statement. The rest of the store's employees have also been transferred to other stores.

The store at the iconic Fullerton Waterboat House was opened in 2014, marking Starbucks' 100th outlet in Singapore. The 1919 Waterboat House restaurant and The Rooftop Bar take up the rest of the landmark.

Starbucks also confirmed that the store closure was unrelated to the ongoing virus outbreak. It did not say if any of its Singapore stores have been closed otherwise, but BT understands the company is in touch with the local health authorities.

Bloomberg last week reported that the American chain closed more than half of its locations in China as a precaution amid the outbreak. Starbucks reportedly has about 4,100 cafes in the mainland.