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Starbucks Has a New Message for the Public: Don’t Come In If You’re Not Going to Buy Anything

  • In 2018, the company instituted a policy allowing customers to sit in its cafes and use its restrooms buying anything.

  • Starbucks implemented the open-door policy after a store manager called the police on two young Black men who had gone to the store for a business meeting. They had not bought anything.

Starbucks Eliminates Open Door Policy
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Jody Serrano

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. In recent years, I've been especially interested in Twitch, streamers, and Internet culture. LinkedIn

Nearly seven years after it opened its doors to all, regardless of whether they bought anything, Starbucks is taking a step back. In fact, the coffee giant is now closing its doors to anyone who is not a paying customer.

An Open-Door Policy for Paying Customers

Starbucks announced the new policy for its North American stores on Monday. The policy states that people who want to hang out in its cafeteria or use its restroom will have to buy something. A new code of conduct for customers also bans discrimination, harassment, consumption of alcohol not purchased at Starbucks, smoking, drug use, and panhandling, the Associated Press reported.

People who break the rules will be asked the leave. Starbucks said the stores may call the police if they feel it’s necessary. Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told the outlet that the new policy aimed to prioritize paying customers.

“We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores,” Anderson said. “By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”

The 2018 Incident

The coffee giant instituted its open-door policy in 2018 after an incident involving two Black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, at one of its stores in Philadelphia. The men, who were 23 years old at the time, had gone to the Starbucks for a business meeting and had not ordered anything. One of them asked to use bathroom but was told it was for paying customers only.

A Starbucks employee proceeded to approach the Nelson and Robinson at their table and ask if they needed anything, which they declined. According to The Guardian, the police arrived a few minutes later and arrested them. Both feared for their lives.

“Anytime I’m encountered by cops, I can honestly say it’s a thought that runs through my mind,” Nelson said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

The arrest of Nelson and Robinson was recorded and posted online, where it went viral and quickly became an embarrassment for the company. A month later, Starbucks unveiled its open-door policy, which stated that “any person who enters our spaces… is considered a customer.”

An Imperfect Policy

While opening its doors to everyone might sound good on paper, it was more difficult than it seemed in practice. Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz acknowledged the potential challenges before the company implemented the policy in a public talk on corporate responsibility.

“We don’t want to become a public bathroom, but we’re going to make the right decision 100% of the time and give people the key,” he said.

As noted by the Associated Press, workers and customers have had to deal with unruly and at times dangerous behavior since the company implemented the open-door policy. In 2022, Starbucks closed 16 stores in Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington because of safety issues.

At the time, company executives said challenges facing the U.S., including the mental health crisis and rising drug use, sometimes reach their stores, too. Some stores have also become go-to spots for the homeless, who workers are not trained to help.

Starbucks Pay To Stay 2025

Response

Over on r/Starbucks, a self-proclaimed subreddit for Starbucks friends and fans, several users appeared to welcome the company’s announcement. Some told stories about people who took advantage of the previous open-door policy, sleeping on the doors or staying in the bathroom for hours. Others spoke about having to deal with loud and unruly teens who order a slew of waters but don’t respect the space.

“It makes sense to define some clear boundaries,” one user said. “Probably shouldn't just kick people out immediately, but there's no reason for non-customers to be able to hang out all day.”

Burying the “Third Place"

Notably, some Reddit users said the new policy marked the end of Starbucks as a “third place.” That’s how Starbucks described itself for years, defining the third place as a space between work and home where they could hang out for hours.

“If you look at the landscape of retail and restaurants in America, there is such a fracturing of places where people meet,” Schultz said in a 1995 interview. He’s served as the company’s CEO three times over nearly decades. “There’s nowhere for people to go. So, we created a place where people can feel comfortable.”

Years later, the company’s message is quite different. It’s a place for you go—if you pay.

Images | kevs | 99.films

Related | People Used to Believe Coffee Was a Drink of the Devil. The Pope ‘Baptized’ It so They Could Enjoy It Guilt-Free

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