Cyrus Langhorne
Coffee giant Starbucks needed almost an entire month before changing a huge policy in its 27,300-plus locations. The brewing franchise has announced it will now allow anyone to use its bathrooms.
According to reports, Starbucks made the decision this week following last month’s Philadelphia location arrest of two black men.
Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks, cited the new policy at an event hosted by the Washington, D.C., think tank the Atlantic Council on Thursday. “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, because we don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom,” he said, according to a transcript of the panel discussion. “We want you to be more than.” (USA Today)
Last month, a Philadelphia-area Starbucks went global after an employee called police on two men for waiting inside without making a purchase.
Within minutes of them arriving, a manager called police after the men declined to leave the premises because, they said, they were waiting for their acquaintance. An attorney representing the men at the time said the person they were scheduled to meet with to discuss a real estate project arrived about the time the police did, CNN affiliate KYW reported. The video of the arrests went viral. (CNN)
Earlier this year, a separate Starbucks bathroom incident sparked headlines due to race appearing to play a key factor.
The video shows a black man claiming he was denied access to a bathroom at a Starbucks in California while a white man was allowed entry. Neither man had made a purchase, according to the video shot by Brandon Ward, which is posted on his Facebook page. (ABC News)
In April, music mogul Russell Simmons has called out the coffee empire for its now-infamous arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store.
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