PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Starbucks is shutting down 16 stores around the country, including one in Philadelphia, citing repeated safety concerns for workers and customers.
The 16 stores are mainly in major cities: six in Seattle, six in Los Angeles, two in Portland, Oregon, and one in Washington. The store on the chopping block in Philadelphia is on the corner of 10th and Chestnut streets, right by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Starbucks, in a memo to employees about store safety, said locations would close if there was no other option to make the place safer.
“It’s kind of unfortunate, but people are worried about being in the city,” said Bryan Stone, a Jefferson employee who frequents that Starbucks regularly for his morning cup of coffee.
“With crime rising on a daily basis, even in broad daylight, people are really taking serious concerns about it. It’s unfortunate.”
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In the memo, Debbie Stroud and Denise Nelson, senior vice presidents of U.S. operations, said safety is a priority.
“You’re also seeing firsthand the challenges facing our communities — personal safety, racism, lack of access to health care, a growing mental health crisis, rising drug use and more,” it reads. “With stores in thousands of communities across the country, we know these challenges can, at times, play out within our stores too. We read every incident report you file — it’s a lot.”
Regulars of the 10th and Chestnut Starbucks who spoke with KYW Newsradio said they have not seen any alarming incidents inside the store. However, they acknowledge that there are serious problems, overall, that must be addressed.
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“We have a homeless problem and they’re looking for shelter, looking for refreshments and they go where they can,” said Travis Harley, who works at the Jefferson campus bookstore.
Starbucks said employees of the closing stores will keep their jobs and be transferred to other locations.
For the rest of the stores, the company said there will be more comprehensive de-escalation, active shooter and mental health first aid training.
Some locations may undergo layout adjustments or limit restroom availability. Others may eliminate restroom availability altogether — a reversal of the open restroom policy that came about following the racial discrimination incident involving two Black men who were arrested at a Starbucks in Rittenhouse Square in 2018. They later reached a settlement with Starbucks.
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