Starbucks

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Hanging out at Starbucks will cost you as company reverses its open-door policy

If you want to hang out or use the restroom at Starbucks, you’re going to have to buy something.

https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-customers-purchase-restroom-code-conduct-3876b0592418f30fc19a4e56848ed28b?

Starbucks changes

Starbucks doesn’t want to be America’s public bathroom anymore. The coffee chain is scrapping a policy that lets anyone use its restrooms without making a purchase. It’s an effort to improve the customer experience — but it reverses a policy put in place after one of the company’s biggest PR disasters.

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Starbucks’ policy change flushes out a debate over public restroom access

Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom policies that has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to use the loo and when.

https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-restrooms-policy-2d258bc61c55769bb2acaf15d1ed3b48?

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Starbucks

Starbucks is eliminating 30% of its menu in the coming months as part of the company's plan to simplify its offerings, reduce wait times and improve its customer experience. CEO Brian Niccol outlined the plan this week, saying there is soon going to be a "roughly 30% reduction in both beverages and food," but he didn't name specific items. Niccol has previously said that the chain's menu had become "overly complex," resulting in long lines. The changes are part of Niccol's goal to turn around the chain's fortunes, which recently reported its fourth consecutive quarter of sales declines.

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☕ Exclusive data: Starbucks' mug moment

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Starbucks' big bet on reestablishing its cafes as community coffeehouses is showing early signs of paying off, according to numbers shared exclusively with Axios' Kelly Tyko. Why it matters: The Seattle-based coffee giant is trying to reverse a decline in foot traffic and sales by returning to its roots. For purchasing a drink in a ceramic or glass mug, Starbucks customers can get a free refill on the same visit — to encourage them to stick around. Starbucks tells Axios that over the past three weeks, "the number of customers who choose ceramic mugs and glasses to sit and stay in cafes has on average increased by more than 3X in the U.S." Keep reading.

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Starbucks imposes new limits on what baristas can wear under their green aprons

Starting May 12, Starbucks employees will be required to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. Some workers have protested the move. Read More.

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☕️ Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz moved his family from Seattle to Miami, he announced on LinkedIn: "We are enjoying the sunshine of South Florida and its allure to our kids on the East Coast as they raise families of their own." Starbucks is opening a new corporate hub in Nashville — though HQ is staying in Seattle. Read his announcement.

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☕️ Protein coffee and other drinks are emerging as a key part of Starbucks' turnaround, with demand peaking on Friday mornings, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. Go deeper.

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• ☕️ Starbucks announced plans to invest $100 million and create thousands of jobs in Nashville as it builds a major hub to anchor its Southeast expansion. Chief partner officer Sara Kelly said in a letter to employees: "We are positioning the company for sustained, long-term growth, including significantly expanding the number of U.S. coffeehouses." Go deeper.