Two years ago Jeffries Point residents were excited that they no longer had to walk or drive to Central Square or McClellan Highway to get their Meridian Market or Starbucks fixes.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the new convenience and filling station on Logan Airport’s Tomahawk Drive particularly hard–forcing the Starbucks to temporarily close and Meridian Market to pull out of the new location due to loss of revenue caused by the pandemic.
The new gas station, which was relocated closer to Jeffries Point in 2019 due to the Terminal E modernization project, promised to be an economic boon for the gas station operator, Meridian Market and Starbucks. Total gross sales of the former gas station near Terminal E were $10,840,340 in 2018. This amount included fuel pump sales as well as sales at the Dunkin’ Donuts, deli and convenience store.
However, the downturn in travel and the fact most people stayed home during the height of the pandemic evaporated any profits at the new Starbucks and Meridian Market.
While the loss of a closer and more covenant Meridian Market was disappointing to Jeffries Point residents, the Nouria Corporation who was picked to operate the gas station reported that Starbucks has returned.
At Monday night’s Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA) Nouria Corporation’s John Hamza said his company has reopened the 24-hour Starbucks at the Logan Airport location complete with a drive-thru.
“We want to obviously make sure that people know that we’re open and put the word out that Starbucks is up and running and open 24 hours,” he said. “As many of you already know Meridian Market is out of the Logan location because of loss of revenues. To replace them we will open “Logan Market’’ at the location. They are in the process right now of receiving permits from the city and we hope to get the operation up and running by the end of the month. So with that the entire business will be running and we’re very excited about serving the Jeffries Point community once again like we did prior to the pandemic.”
The new station features a Shell gas station with open space and a park-like layout.
At the time of its opening in the summer of 2019, Massport picked Meridian Market as a community partner to run its sandwich shop and deli. The involvement of Meridian Market was part of Massport’s plan to increase more local business opportunities at the airport. As part of this project and due to its close proximity to the Jeffries Point neighborhood, Massport improved the physical space around the new filling station. The space features a number of amenities including public open green space with a patio, electric vehicle charging stations, and walk-able access to the community. The design of the space was inspired by the outdoor veranda at the Bremen Street Library that overlooks Massport’s Bremen Street Park.