Much more than coffee: LeBron James opens a different Starbucks in his hometown

The stellar basketball playerLeBron James opened in his hometown aStarbucks focused, not only on the services it offers to consumers, but also on the professional training of its employees.

“The 46 people who work there are paid by the hour, but in addition to the money they obtain valuable job training certificates for the hospitality industry,” described sports journalist Joe Vardon for the magazine.The Athletic.

According to the chronicler of theNBA, it is “a completely new way of thinking about job training, typically conducted at community colleges and vocational schools where students are not paid for the certificates they receive that they believe are essential to their job search.”

Officially inaugurated last Wednesday, the Starbucks in the city ofAkron, Ohio, includes a Chase bank, a wine room, a bar, a social room and even a “LeBron museum,” which has a replica of the apartment he lived in before.

“All employees will receive training in all facets of each business inHouse Three Thirty, from event planning, to food service (there's a fancy test kitchen in the basement sponsored by Pepsi, another of LeBron's partners), to housekeeping work. They get paid and get training credits,” Vardon said.

House Three Thirty is the name of the facility that houses James' Starbucks in his hometown and refers to its code (330). James' foundation bought the property three years ago and plans to add a taqueria, an ice cream parlor and a clothing store, as well as allowing it to be used as a venue for concerts and even weddings.

“None of the other nearly 33,000 Starbucks on Earth are like this one in Akron (…), largely because it is the only Starbucks that is part of James' 12-year effort to end cyclical poverty in his hometown. confronting its root causes,” the publication indicated.

The Starbucks is just a few blocks awayJames Promise School, a public school the NBA star opened in 2018 to help at-risk students in Akron.

“My life has changed a lot,” said the manager of the new Starbucks,Alexis Schuler. “I went from being behind the bar at Starbucks to being a manager, and it has given me a whole new perspective on hospitality as an industry. “It has given me a perspective that I didn't have before.”

“In everything we do as a Foundation, it is about making our children, parents and people in the community believe that there can be more to their lives than they ever dreamed possible,” James said, according to the Cleveland television station.WJW .

“We designHouse Three Thirty to create opportunities and open doors to show that anything is possible and you can do it right here in Akron. We believe thatHouse Three Thirty “It will be a staple for our city, and we can't wait for people to come and experience it.”

According to the magazineForbes, LeBron James' business portfolio continues to grow and his net worth, which reached $1 billion several months ago, apparently continues to increase.

James, an outspoken activist and frequent critic of the former presidentDonald Trump, helped form a group in 2020 that spent millions of dollars onthe battle against voter disqualification in predominantly black communities, in the elections that the Republican magnate lost against the DemocratJoe Biden.

At the end of December, the superstar celebrated his 38th birthday witha birthday cake that had a drawing of the island of Cuba and the inscription “Happy Birthday, Lebron”.