MORGANTOWN — Big Daddy Guns is out of The Deck. Starbucks is in.
Logan Williams, associate corporate council with Hardy World, the developer behind the new building at 1050 University Ave., confirmed as much Friday.
“We had numerous discussions, us and Big Daddy Guns, and the parties both decided to terminate the lease agreement at The Deck,” Williams said. “We wish them the best in the future, but unfortunately after numerous negotiations and discussions we did decide to terminate the lease.”
The inclusion of the Florida-based firearms retailer in the development kicked off weeks of public debate and spurred the creation of Protect Morgantown, a community group dedicated to keeping the gun store out of the downtown location.
One of the avenues taken by Protect Morgantown was to pressure coffee giant Starbucks, touted as the building’s anchor business and the only other tenant under lease with Hardy World for that location.
That pressure appears to have worked.
On July 28, a representative of Starbucks told The Dominion Post it was pulling its store from The Deck, citing safety concerns due to its “proximity to another business.”
That was a bluff.
“Starbucks never pulled out. I know there were rumblings and Protect Morgantown had made a statement, but Starbucks never pulled out of the property at any time,” Williams said. “They regrouped and should be opening toward the end of the year.”
Protect Morgantown organizer Jodi Hollingshead said she was “thrilled” with the news Friday.
The group previously conceded it likely wouldn’t be able to stop Big Daddy Guns and shifted its efforts to pushing city zoning amendments that would prevent future firearms retailers from opening in and around the downtown business district. Those zoning changes are currently before the Morgantown Planning Commission.
“We were prepared for maybe a second-best scenario, but we got exactly the outcome we were working for. I’m so thrilled for the community that we’ve successfully kept this business from opening downtown,” she said, adding, “I’m just so impressed by the community and how they rallied and organized to make this happen. I can’t say enough about the number of community members who came out, just like that, and got this done.”
As for Big Daddy Guns, it seems as if this was always an outcome the company was preparing for.
Shortly after the Starbucks announcement, Big Daddy Enterprises Public Relations Coordinator Nick Lahera said the company was still scouting locations. At the time he said it was for a second store.
When The Dominion Post previously reached out to Lahera, on Aug. 24, he said the company was waiting on a key from Hardy World and everything remained on schedule for a September opening at The Deck.
On Friday, Lahera said the company didn’t plan to comment regarding The Deck, but would be commenting soon.
“Co-founder, Sherrie McKnight, and I will be traveling to Morgantown next week to host a press conference on Wednesday evening,” he said. “I will provide more information once it becomes available.”
