Starbucks is reversing its open-door policy. Now, if you want to hang out or use the bathroom at one of the coffee giant’s locations, you’ll need to buy something.
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It’s part of a new code of conduct for its company-owned stores. It includes bans on discrimination, harassment, panhandling, smoking, vaping and drinking outside alcohol.
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It reverses a rule change the coffee chain made in 2018 after a store manager called the police on two Black men in a Philadelphia location. They asked to go to the bathroom while waiting for a friend to arrive. Video of police arresting the men went viral, prompting then-CEO Howard Schultz to announce the open-door policy.
“Everyone is welcome at Starbucks,” Schultz told an Atlantic Council event in 2018. “And in terms of the bathroom, we’re going to have to make sure that we don’t want to become a public bathroom but we’re going to make the right decision a hundred percent of the time and give people the key. Because we don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less-than.”
However, much like when it introduced the open-door policy, the company is framing its reversal as part of being welcoming. “We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told the Associated Press. “By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”
Starbucks closed 16 stores in 2022, citing safety threats to workers and customers in cities including Los Angeles and Seattle.
KENNEDY FELTON: Starbucks is reversing its open-door policy. So now if you want to hang out or use the bathroom at one of their locations, you’ll need to buy something.
It’s part of a set of changes in a new code of conduct for its company-owned stores, including bans on discrimination, harassment, panhandling, smoking, vaping and drinking outside alcohol.
It reverses a rule change the coffee chain made in 2018, after a store manager called the police on two Black men in a Philadelphia location who asked to go to the bathroom while waiting for a friend to arrive. Video of police arresting the men went viral, prompting then-CEO Howard Schultz to announce the open-door policy.
HOWARD SCHULTZ, Former Starbucks CEO: Everyone is welcome at Starbucks. And in terms of the bathroom, we’re going to have to make sure that we don’t want to become a public bathroom but we’re going to make the right decision a hundred percent of the time and give people the key. Because we don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less than.”
KENNEDY FELTON: Like when it introduced the policy, the company framed its reversal as part of being welcoming. “We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told the Associated Press. “By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”
Starbucks closed 16 stores in 2022, citing safety threats to workers and customers in cities including Los Angeles and Seattle.
For Straight Arrow News, I’m Kennedy Felton.
And for all the latest updates on this and other top stories, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit SAN.com.
Media Landscape
See who else is reporting on this story and which side of the political spectrum they lean. To read other sources, click on the plus signs below. Learn more about this data
Left 22%
Center 58%
Right 20%
Bias Distribution
61 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
61
Leaning Left
11
Center
29
Leaning Right
10
Last Updated
24 hours ago
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