The Hickman House is located in the Hickman Shopping Center on General Booth Blvd and has experienced some rather big changes in the past few years. When it was first built in 1832, the Hickman House was originally designed to be an inn for travelers, but fast forward 190 years, it’s now a renovated Starbucks.

Sometime in the mid-1800s, the house was bought and owned by the Hickmans, until 2014, when developer Michael Sifon began thinking of ideas to turn the house into a type of cafe, and the area around the house into a shopping center. 

“I like the new Starbucks because it is very relaxing inside, and you can do homework while eating food and drinking coffee in this cozy environment,” said sophomore Alessio Belcastro.

Sifon was unsure if they would be able to design the shopping center around the house’s original location. This is why the Hickman House was moved in 2017. Later, when the ideas for the shopping center came to reality, the city council held a meeting vote to allow Starbucks to rent the Hickman property from the company Sifon.

“Starbucks has always been looking for a location with a drive-thru, and this deal with Sifon was a great opportunity for Starbucks,” said store manager Mary Andres.

Starbucks opened its new location on Oct. 1, 2021. The community had a very positive reaction to Starbucks. This is mainly because the newly opened location was equipped with a drive-through. Additionally, many customers also began to prefer this Starbucks location due to the cozy feel and refurbished look.

“The work for the design of the Starbucks was done all throughout 2020,” said Andres. “We made sure that our store felt like a relaxing place to come to.”

The Hickman Starbucks is one of the few Starbucks locations in Virginia Beach that was built with a drive-through. Today, the Hickman House is considered to be one of Virginia’s most famous historical landmarks, and the new Starbucks community keeps the house in its former glory.

“This warm environment has kept me happy and comfortable with working at the Hickman Starbucks, and the customers that come in share various stories with me and leave an impact,” said Starbucks Employee and Ocean Lakes student Miracle Harrison. “I am truly grateful and proud to work at Hickman Starbucks.”