Starbucks on track to open in April at mall

ASHEBORO — Starbucks is definitely coming to Asheboro.

The new coffee shop being developed on East Dixie Drive on an Asheboro Mall outparcel is scheduled to open in April and Starbucks is meeting that schedule, according to Jim Hull, owner and managing principal of Hull Property Group, which owns the mall.

Reports from Hull indicate construction of the Starbucks building is now focused on the interior and setting up equipment. Starbucks is said to be “fully invested” in the project.

“We love Asheboro and the new plants, (referring to Toyota Battery and Wolfspeed) and all the other good things,” Hull said. “They have good city leadership.”

Hull Property Group, based in Augusta, GA, owns 34 malls in the eastern half of the United States, including five more in North Carolina.

Its overriding principle, according to its website, is contained in this statement: “We believe that every community should have a first class enclosed shopping mall as part of a robust and defined retail corridor.”

Hull said in a telephone interview, “We are disciplined mall operators. We won’t allow anybody but full-inventory” enterprises that focus on customer service. “That will pay off in the long term,” he said.

As for Asheboro Mall, Hull said Maker & Merchant, which opened last year as a means for local small businesses to market their goods, “has done real well. It’s better than those in large cities and the new tenants are pleased.”