Free Ride at Starbucks Ends

There will be no more hanging out at Starbucks, the chain has decided, without buying something. A new code of conduct for Starbucks' North American cafes includes the reversal of the policy in effect since 2018 allowing people to sit in the store—and use the restroom—whether they're paying customers or not, the Wall Street Journal reports. "There is a need to reset expectations for how our spaces should be used, and who uses them," an executive wrote in a letter this week.

The company also is adding signs to the cafes prohibiting violence, harassment, threatening language, alcohol from outside, smoking, and panhandling, staff notices to say. The policy calls for employees, who will be trained on enforcement, to ask violators to leave and then call law enforcement if needed, per the AP. The changes are an effort by the company, which is dealing with declines in customer traffic and sales, to make the cafes more inviting.

The open-door policy was enacted after an embarrassment at a Philadelphia cafe where two Black men were arrested after not buying anything; that store had its own policy. The companywide change takes effect this month, as will a policy of free refills on hot and iced coffee. While people liked to stop by to use the bathroom, employees said the policy led to messes and loitering. (More Starbucks stories.)