SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Starbucks location in Sacramento closed its doors earlier this month.
On May 20, the store at 7th and K streets in the Downtown Commons closed permanently, according to a statement provided to ABC10 by Starbucks. The company has engaged with Workers United to collaborate on next steps including transfer options for the seven partners employed at the location, the statement said.
According to Workers United on X, formerly Twitter, the store unionized in April 2023 by an 11-2 vote, making it the 300th store to unionize company-wide. Its reason for closure wasn’t immediately apparent.
“As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate our store portfolio, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers,” the company said in its statement. “We do not take the decision to close stores lightly.”
The first-ever Starbucks to unionize, located in Seattle, closed in December 2022 amid crime concerns.
At the time, Workers United claimed the closure was retaliation.
“We had been begging for a social worker and security guard since even before I worked there, but the only response we have ever gotten were vague gestures that ‘we've been heard,’ while the company continues to ignore the problems,” employee Rachel Ybarra said in a statement two years ago. “Our safety has never been a concern to Starbucks.”
However, it hadn’t been the first Starbucks location in the area to close due to crime. In July 2022, Starbucks announced it planned to close five Seattle-area stores over crime concerns, two of which were unionized.
In Sacramento, the coffee company said its relationship with its local customers is deeply personal, and it is honored to have served customers at its 7th and K street location.
The city said in a statement to ABC10 it looks forward to any new business that takes its place.
“…The city of Sacramento encourages investments of all types and looks forward to the launch of any new business that provides community benefit and contributes to the overall vibrancy of the area,” the statement said.
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