Starbucks Starbucks, along with its partner Delek Group of Israel, closed all six of its locations in Israel, citing "on-going operational challenges" and a "difficult business environment." The Starbucks location in the former imperial palace in Beijing closed in July 2007. The coffee shop had been a source of ongoing controversy since its opening in 2000 with protesters objecting that the presence of the American chain in this location "was trampling on Chinese culture." In July 2008, the company announced it was closing 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cutting U.S. expansion plans amid growing economic uncertainty. On July 29, 2008, Starbucks
600 @ Toa Payoh of Wisely at 9.30pm. The cinema was then acquired by fast food chain McDonald's, which would undergo immediate makeover upon its closure. The cinema was leased to Cathay Organisation and reopened 6 months later as the Central Cinema with the screening of the movie on 28 July 1987, the cinema screened mostly Hong Kong films and occasionally English films. In the mid 1990s, Golden Village took over the management of the Central Cinema, providing Toa Payoh residents with the latest films distributed by Golden Village. Central Cinema ceased operation with the last screening of an award-winning feature film, The Soong