Starbucks closes high-traffic Pike Place store during peak Seattle tourist season

Former Starbucks CEO and Founder Howard Schultz told employees in 2022 that the coffee giant would be shuttering locations due to safety concerns. At the time 5 other Seattle locations were closed. He blamed elected leaders of the Democrat cities where the stores are closing "at the local state and federal level, these governments... and leaders, mayors and governors and city councils have advocated their responsibility in fighting crime & addressing mental illness."

Starbucks employees previously told The Post Millennial that they have to deal with people "doing drugs in bathrooms" of Seattle franchises and regularly have to clean up drug paraphernalia and needle debris. They have also seen homeless people "wander in off the streets and harass employees and customers."

The location was also a target of protestors during the civil unrest in 2020 that rocked the Emerald City in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Seattle has seen a massive surge in crime since the city council voted to defund the police in 2020.

Deanna Cunningham, who works at the Seattle Shirt Company across the street, told KOMO News that the area has its share of problematic people off the streets. “They can be disruptive, whether it's stealing items or just making other people feel uncomfortable."

Starbucks would not confirm that safety problems caused the closure, but a spokesperson said in a statement, “As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate our store portfolio to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers, our business, and our partners (employees). After careful consideration, we’ve determined it is best to temporarily close the store at 1st and Pike in Seattle, effective July 31, as we evaluate how best to offer a warm and welcoming environment for customers and partners (employees) at this store.”

“All Starbucks partners (employees) working at that store will have the opportunity to continue working at the other Heritage Market stores. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our nearby locations in downtown Seattle, including at our other Heritage Market stores around the corner.” The latest closure came just weeks after Starbucks announced it was permanently closing its location at the popular Alki beach.