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Cup of comfort: Funeral home offers Starbucks
Berenice Quirino/Staff photos - Veronica Flores, a barista, prepares coffee for a customer at a Starbucks at the Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home.
By Danny Gallagher, dgallagher@acnpapers.com
MCKINNEY -- The Starbucks on North Central Expressway near Ridgeview Drive between Allen and McKinney has a regular, steady stream of customers, just like any other coffee shop that's located between someone's house and work.
Allen police officers always stop in for a cup of joe before heading out on their regular routes. Some stop in for their usual and a newspaper and maybe even something sweet to start their day.
Most times, however, the coffee bar is visited by people who are usually going through a more difficult period in their life like the sudden, tragic loss of a loved one. That's because it's located inside of a funeral home.
"When families come to a funeral home to make arrangements and tend to those details that they have to attend to, there is no reason they can't take a break to have something nice to eat or drink and we wanted to incorporate something familiar and comforting," Turrentine-Jackson Morrow Funeral Home owner Diana Morrow said. "So they can sit back and enjoy a nice cup of coffee and relax."
The funeral home's franchise is the first of its kind in the nation and even though it's a bit smaller than a local Starbucks, it's still got everything the bigger franchises carry (except for Frappucinos because they aren't allowed to use the name so they call theirs "Creamices").
Earl Nesbit stopped in the Starbucks on Thursday with his sister Rose Anne Mott while both were making arrangements for their mother. He said the coffee shop has become a familiar escape to him and his loved ones since he recently lost his father.
"I thought it was a very creative and innovative idea," he said about the funeral home's franchise. "At first, I thought it was weird but then it started to make sense."
Morrow said the coffee shop has received a ton of compliments from families like Nesbit's for its innovation and accessibility.
"So far, people have thought it's brilliant," he said. "It's been well received and we have a lot of people who are just really, really grateful to have something familiar when they have to come out here. It puts them at ease."
Veronica Flores, the Starbucks' full-time barista, has worked at the coffee bar since it opened in February, moving from the funeral home's flower shop. She used to work at a coffee shop on McKinney's downtown square and jumped at the chance to get behind a coffee grinder again.
She said she loves her job because she knows in a place like a funeral home, she's providing much more than a quick fix of caffeine for her customers.
"People come in here sad and grieving and you're here and you wanna help and make them feel better," Flores said. "Sometimes it's hard because you're asking them how they are doing and you know they are in a funeral home, but making coffee for them really comforts them. It's a good feeling."
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