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Frappuccino and caramel macchiato lovers in Tucson won't have to worry about finding a new place to get their fix.

Not so for the luxury caffeine devotees in Eloy.

The town's only Starbucks, at 4985 N. Sunland Gin Road across the street from Love's Travel Stop, is one of the 600 U.S. stores the company is planning to close in coming months. It's the only planned closing in Arizona.

The stand-alone coffee shop opened just last August, according to an e-mail from Starbucks spokeswoman Claire Woll. She would not specify when the store will close. Employees at the Eloy store also declined to comment.

Store closings will start this month and will continue through the first half of next year, according to Starbucks' Web site. The Seattle-based retailer announced it would be closing hundreds of company-operated stores across the country because of poor sales at those locations.

Eloy Mayor Byron Jackson lamented the Starbucks' closing.

"We were really proud of that new store," said Jackson, who added that he regularly patronized the coffee shop for mocha Frappuccinos and lattes.

Jackson said the store might have been the first stand-alone Starbucks in Pinal County. Neighboring Casa Grande currently has one stand-alone store at 1485 E. Florence Blvd. in addition to three others inside other retailers, according to the Starbucks Web site.

"It's really unfortunate," Jackson said. "No city or town wants it to happen to them."

John Nelson, who lives near the Starbucks, said the coffee shop saw "a good influx of people" when it opened and has stayed fairly busy, mainly from travelers pulling off the highway. He was disappointed to hear of it closing.

"We'd like more businesses in the area," he said.

Eloy is booming — at least in area. Recent annexations have left the city covering about 100 square miles, but with a population of not much more than 12,000, according to the state Department of Commerce.

And Eloy has big plans for itself.

Developers have received state approval for government bonds to finance the construction of Decades, a grandiose rock 'n' roll theme park. A second, Old West-themed park, including a movie studio, is also being planned for the years ahead, said Belinda Akes, executive director of the Eloy Chamber of Commerce.

Plans are also in the works for a Union Pacific rail yard near Picacho Peak.

"I think it's probably a corporate thing," Akes said about the Starbucks closing. "I don't think they were even looking at what's going on in Eloy."