Work is well underway on a new Starbucks in the Barrington Shopping Center.

And according to officials close to the project, the new coffee shop should be opening this fall. 

Joe Paolino is managing partner of Paolino Properties, which owns the Barrington Shopping Center. Paolino said the construction, which includes the creation of a drive-through lane and an outdoor patio, is scheduled to wrap up by the end of July. 

Once that work is finished, he said, officials from Starbucks will begin the process of moving into the space. 

Paolino said the coffee shop should be set up by the end of October, and he expects the new location to open in November. 

“We’re very excited about them being there,” Paolino said. “It’s very exciting.”

The Barrington Shopping Center has featured a Starbucks for many years — it is currently located in a smaller space closer to the parking lot entrance and does not feature a drive-through lane.

But a few years ago, news surfaced about plans to open a new Starbucks in town. At first, officials wanted to put the Starbucks on County Road at the former BP gas station property. At that time, Planning Board members said they supported the development of a new Starbucks in Barrington, but not if it included a drive-through lane at that location. 

Members said that plan’s drive-through lane for the County Road property did not comply with the town’s development plan review standards, zoning ordinance or comprehensive plan. 

A short time later, officials pitched a new Starbucks in the Barrington Shopping Center — in the space formerly filled by a JoS. A Bank store and later used as a Covid testing site. 

Paolino brought the plan to the Barrington Zoning Board, seeking a special use permit for a drive-through lane that would be constructed along the western side of the building.

The zoning board eventually approved the permit.

During a recent interview, Paolino explained how important it was for the Center to include Starbucks as one of its anchors. 

“It’s a key anchor for our little village shopping center,” Paolino said. 

The plan for the new Starbucks coffee shop includes a drive-through lane along the western side of the building, safe pedestrian access from the East Bay Bike Path to the front door of Starbucks, bike racks, and a patio with outdoor seating.