New Starbucks Opens Near Rochdale Infirmary 2026

Key Points

• New Starbucks drive-through opens on Whitworth Road in Rochdale on Friday, 7 August 2026.
• The branch is located beside the Dunelm store on Whitworth Road.
• The store has both indoor seating and a drive-through service.
• A soft launch took place on Thursday, 6 August, ahead of the public opening.
• The Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale attended the soft launch.
• Representatives from Springhill Hospice were also present.
• The branch is close to Rochdale Infirmary and other businesses along Whitworth Road.
• Earlier planning coverage said the development was expected to create 24 full- and part-time local jobs.
• Planning information reported that the site would include indoor and outdoor seating and pedestrian links to surrounding roads.
• The new branch forms part of the changing retail and food offer around Whitworth Road.

Rochdale (Manchester Mirror) August 07, 2026 – A new Starbucks branch with a drive-through is opening to the public on Whitworth Road in uk/local/rochdale/">Rochdale, beside the Dunelm store. The coffee shop includes indoor seating as well as a drive-through facility, giving customers two ways to use the new location. The public opening follows a soft launch attended by local civic representatives and Springhill Hospice representatives on Thursday, 6 August.

The new branch is positioned close to Rochdale Infirmary and other businesses on Whitworth Road. According to David Murphy of Roch Valley Radio, the location was welcomed by people attending the soft launch because it provides an additional place for those visiting or waiting near the hospital.

When will the Starbucks open?

The new Starbucks on Whitworth Road is due to open to customers on Friday, 7 August 2026. Guests were invited to attend the soft launch on Thursday, 6 August, one day before the official opening.

Roch Valley Radio reported that the Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale attended the pre-opening event alongside representatives from Springhill Hospice. The event gave invited guests an opportunity to visit the new branch before it began trading with the wider public.

The opening date was reported by David Murphy in an article published by Roch Valley Radio on Thursday, 6 August 2026. The report stated that the store would officially open the following day.

No separate public statement about the branch’s detailed opening timetable was included in the report. Earlier planning coverage said Starbucks stores generally operate seven days a week, but it also noted that opening hours for the Whitworth Road site had not been confirmed at that stage.

Where is the new Starbucks located?

The new Starbucks is located on Whitworth Road, next to the Dunelm store. The site is close to Rochdale Infirmary and sits among other retail and commercial businesses along the road.

The position gives the branch access to people using the surrounding retail area, as well as customers travelling near the infirmary. The store’s drive-through service is designed to allow customers to collect orders without using the indoor seating area, while the café also provides space for people who want to sit inside.

The location was previously covered during the planning process. Rochdale Online reported in November 2024 that part of the car park serving Dunelm and the former Carpetright store had been approved for transformation into a Starbucks drive-through café.

According to that earlier report, the car park contained 128 spaces before the development, with 66 spaces allocated for removal to make room for the new unit. The planning coverage said the proposed premises would measure 171 square metres and include both indoor and outdoor seating.

The planning proposal also included a footpath connecting the development with Whitehall Street, Whitworth Road and Duke Street. This means the scheme was presented not only as a drive-through facility but also as a café accessible to people arriving on foot.

What happened at the soft launch?

The soft launch took place on Thursday, 6 August, before the branch opened to the public. The Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale were among the attendees, while representatives from Springhill Hospice also visited the new store.

The event was not the official public opening. Instead, it provided invited guests with an early opportunity to see the premises and use the new branch before customers were admitted on Friday.

Roch Valley Radio reported that the store’s position near Rochdale Infirmary was a significant feature for people attending the launch. The report said the combination of indoor seating and a drive-through was welcomed by those visiting or waiting in the area.

The involvement of Springhill Hospice also connected the opening event with a local charity. The report identified the hospice representatives as attendees but did not state that the Starbucks branch had announced a specific fundraising partnership, donation or sponsorship arrangement. No such claim has been added here.

What was planned for the development?

The project received earlier local news coverage during the planning process. George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter for Rochdale Online, reported that the Starbucks drive-through had been given the go-ahead for a retail park site on Whitworth Road.

Planning information cited by Rochdale Online said the applicant was Glenbrook Investments Ltd. The applicant said the café would provide economic benefits, including 24 full- and part-time jobs in the local area. The company also said that further indirect employment would be created during construction.

The planning papers described the proposed Starbucks as a high-quality development with an attractive and contemporary design intended to respect the local context. That description came from the planning material reported by Rochdale Online and was attributed in the report to the application documents.

The development involved the conversion of part of an existing retail car park rather than the creation of a completely separate retail destination. The plan therefore affected the available parking serving the nearby stores, while also adding a new food and drink facility to the area.

Earlier reporting stated that unrestricted operating hours were being sought during the planning process. However, the opening hours had not been confirmed in that coverage. The later Roch Valley Radio report confirmed the public opening date but did not publish a full timetable.

How does the new branch fit into Rochdale’s Starbucks network?

The Whitworth Road branch is not the only Starbucks location reported in connection with Rochdale. Rochdale Online’s 2024 coverage said the company already had two units in the town centre and that another drive-through had been planned for Sandbrook Retail Park.

The Starbucks UK store locator also lists a Rochdale Sandbrook Park drive-through at Sandbrook Retail Park. The listing gives the store’s published hours as 6am to 11pm on Thursday and Friday, 6.30am to 11pm on Saturday, 7am to 11pm on Sunday, and 6am to 11pm from Monday to Wednesday. Those hours apply to the Sandbrook Park listing and should not be treated as confirmed hours for the new Whitworth Road branch.

The separate locations indicate that Starbucks has an existing presence in Rochdale and is adding another branch with a drive-through format. The available reports do not state whether the Whitworth Road store is company-owned or operated by a franchise partner, nor do they provide information about the branch’s staffing structure beyond the earlier planning estimate.

The reports also do not provide details of the new store’s menu, prices, delivery availability, mobile-order facilities or accessibility arrangements. Those details may be confirmed by Starbucks or the branch after opening.

What can customers expect from the opening?

Customers will be able to use the new Whitworth Road branch from Friday, 7 August 2026. The confirmed facilities are indoor seating and a drive-through service.

The branch’s location near Dunelm, Rochdale Infirmary and other Whitworth Road businesses means it may serve several groups, including nearby shoppers, employees, hospital visitors and people travelling through the area. The Roch Valley Radio report specifically identified the convenience of the location for people visiting or waiting near the infirmary.

Customers who plan to visit should check the store’s published operating hours before travelling, because the reports used for this article confirm the opening date but do not provide a verified timetable for the Whitworth Road site.

The earlier planning application referred to indoor and outdoor seating, while the opening report confirmed indoor seating and a drive-through. The available coverage does not state whether the outdoor seating area is available from the first day of public trading.

Background: how did the Whitworth Road plan develop?

The Whitworth Road Starbucks proposal was reported locally in November 2024, when planning approval had been granted for a new drive-through café. The proposed site was part of the car park serving Dunelm and the former Carpetright unit.

The planning scheme proposed a 171-square-metre premises with indoor and outdoor seating. It also included pedestrian connections towards Whitehall Street, Whitworth Road and Duke Street. The plan would reduce the number of car parking spaces at the site by 66 from an existing total of 128.

Glenbrook Investments Ltd was identified as the applicant. The company said the development would create 24 full- and part-time jobs locally, with additional indirect employment linked to construction.

The project subsequently progressed to the opening stage. Roch Valley Radio reported that invited guests attended a soft launch on 6 August 2026, with the branch scheduled to open to the public on 7 August 2026. David Murphy wrote the opening report for Roch Valley Radio, while the earlier planning report was written by George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter, for Rochdale Online.

Prediction: how could the opening affect Rochdale customers and residents?

For local customers, the immediate effect is likely to be the addition of another coffee shop with both seated service and a drive-through option on Whitworth Road. People visiting Dunelm, travelling near Rochdale Infirmary or using nearby businesses will have another place to buy drinks and food, although the precise customer response will depend on the branch’s prices, hours, queues and service.

The planned employment figure provides a potential benefit for local jobseekers. However, the 24-job estimate came from the earlier planning coverage and does not confirm how many positions will be available at the opening, whether all roles have been filled or what type of contracts will be offered.

Residents and existing businesses may also monitor the effect of the development on parking and traffic. The approved plan involved removing 66 spaces from the car park, while the drive-through could bring additional vehicle movements to the retail area. The planning report stated that the scheme was considered acceptable in its commercial setting, but the real-world effect will become clearer after the branch has been operating.

For hospital visitors and people waiting near Rochdale Infirmary, the indoor seating could provide an additional nearby venue. That potential benefit was noted in Roch Valley Radio’s coverage of the soft launch, which reported that the location and seating options had been welcomed by attendees.

The main information still to be confirmed for customers is the new branch’s opening timetable and whether all planned features, including outdoor seating and pedestrian access arrangements, are available from the first day.