Where Does Downtown Frederick Get Its Morning Coffee Now That the North Market Street Starbucks Is Gone?

A notice taped to the door at 104 N. Market Street told customers that Starbucks had "made the very difficult decision to close this Starbucks location by the end of this week." That was the week of Sept. 24, and the store, at the corner of Market and East Church streets, is now closed.

The decision came from a company-wide list. Starbucks announced on Sept. 24 that it would close about 250 coffeehouses in North America, which is roughly 1% of its 18,000 or so stores. Its chief operating officer said the targeted locations either weren't delivering acceptable financial results or couldn't offer the experience the company wants. Frederick's store appeared on the published list of closures alongside Rockville, Silver Spring and Pocomoke City. Starbucks has not released a full list of its own.

A closure that sits on a spreadsheet in Seattle says very little about Market Street. The more interesting fact about that corner is how recently it became a Starbucks corner at all.

The chain arrived after the coffee did

DC News Now reported that the shop closed after 19 years, which puts its opening around 2007. Frederick Coffee Co. & Café opened in 1991. That is about 16 years of downtown coffee before the green apron showed up, and the older shop is still pouring.

Frederick Coffee Co. celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, according to its own site. Mike and Terri Winder have owned it since October 2010, and they also run Frederick Fudge & Ice Cream and Shab Row Tea Emporium in Everedy Square and Shab Row. The café started in the building where the fudge shop now sits, then moved after one year into its current space, a former Sinclair gas station that was also Frederick's first video rental store. It opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. every day.

That timeline changes what the closure means. Downtown Frederick did not lose its coffee anchor. It lost one of its newer ones, and the older ones kept their doors open the whole time.

Who is pouring within walking distance

The independents cluster around Market Street, and several sit close to the old corner. This table draws on Visit Frederick's coffee guide and two local coffee guides from earlier this year. Hours change, so check before you go.

Market Street Boba & Beans sits on the block just south of the closed Starbucks. The others fan out from there in different directions, so the first-morning question of where to go has a different answer depending on which end of Market Street you start from.

A block that has seen this before

Turnover is not new on the 100 block of North Market Street. Firestone's Culinary Tavern, at 105 N. Market, closed in June 2024 after 26 years. A liquor license application for a restaurant called Fire & Oak followed, and it has since moved into the corner space.

The pattern repeats across downtown. La Paz Mexican Restaurant, which had been downtown since 1978 and at 51 S. Market since 2005, closed on Dec. 8, 2024 after owner Graham Baker sold the restaurant and the building. Chef Thomas Zippelli, who runs Salt & Vine in Olney, bought it. The Frederick location is still listed as opening in 2026, and its site says private event bookings begin this fall. I found no confirmed opening date.

Then there is 50 Citizen's Way. South Mountain Creamery closed its shop there on Aug. 24, 2025 after eight years, and Umi Sushi, based in Ellicott City, held its soft opening in that space on July 15.

Each of those spaces changed hands in public, with a named operator announced ahead of time. The Starbucks corner has no announced successor, and I have not seen a listing or a permit filing naming one.

October events around downtown

October’s calendar spans events in and around downtown, from early-month gatherings to events later this month.

The Weinberg opened on Dec. 23, 1926, as the Tivoli Theater, and its centennial season started with that free open house. The theater says it draws more than 85,000 patrons a year who also visit downtown shops and restaurants. Spread over 52 weeks, that averages roughly 1,600 people a week. The kickoff's offerings included silent film shorts, family activities and door prizes.

Fall Fest on Oct. 24 and 25 sits in Everedy Square and Shab Row, the same shopping district that houses Frederick Coffee Co. The event listings mention seasonal treats, pumpkin carving displays and fall activities, and the café sits inside the festival's footprint in its 35th anniversary year.

Where to start the morning

For a morning downtown, the simplest plan is a coffee stop. Frederick Coffee Co. is open from 6 a.m. Market Street Boba & Beans is nearest to the old Starbucks corner. Ibiza Cafe serves siphon and pour-over brews for anyone who wants to slow the morning down.

The bigger question is what eventually takes over 104 N. Market. Firestone's corner filled with a named operator, La Paz's building went to a chef with a second location, and South Mountain Creamery's space went to a sushi restaurant from Ellicott City. When the next announcement comes for the Starbucks address, it will likely arrive the same way, through a liquor license filing, a city economic development post or a soft-opening notice.

If the closure sent you looking for a new coffee stop, or you want to hear more about downtown Frederick's corners as they change hands, Vicki Reyes is glad to compare notes. Let's Connect.