Starbucks reverses its open-door policy, requiring people to make a purchase if they want to stay

Starbucks is reversing its open-door policy after almost seven years, now requiring that people make a purchase if they want to hang out at its coffee shops or use its restrooms. 

The coffee giant said on Monday that a new code of conduct – which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores – will also ban discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping, drug use and panhandling.

The new rules reverse an open-door policy put in place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business meeting. The incident at that individual store, which had a policy of asking non-paying customers to leave, was caught on video and was a major embarrassment for the company.

The change also comes under the new leadership of Brian Niccol, who was hired from Chipotle last year to revitalize the struggling coffee chain. Niccol has vowed to make Starbucks’ locations “inviting places to linger,” with the goal of reestablishing the chain as the nation’s “community coffeehouse.”

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Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the new rules are designed to help prioritize paying customers. Anderson said most other retailers already have similar rules.

“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.”

Stores may call law enforcement

The code of conduct warns that violators will be asked to leave, and says the store may call law enforcement, if necessary. Starbucks said employees would receive training on enforcing the new policy.

At the time of the 2018 incident, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said he didn’t want people to feel “less than” if they were refused access.

“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,” Schultz said.

Since then, though, employees and customers have struggled with unruly and even dangerous behavior in stores. In 2022, Starbucks closed 16 stores around the country — including six in Los Angeles and six in its hometown of Seattle — for repeated safety issues, including drug use and other disruptive behaviors that threatened staff.

Since the pandemic shuttered the economy in early 2020, mental health issues as well as misuse of drugs have increased, as well as homelessness.