(Bloomberg) — New Yorkers hoping to buy a latte at Starbucks on Sunday will probably find their neighborhood stores in Manhattan closed.
The coffee chain temporarily closed “select stores” in the Manhattan area because of the chance of protests, according to an emailed statement from a company spokesperson. A slew of posts on Twitter and the company’s online store locator show the closures are widespread.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in keeping partner and customer safety top of mind, local leaders have made the decision to close select stores in the Manhattan area due to expected protests happening today,” the statement said.
Another spokesperson added that Seattle-area stores are unaffected.
The company shut the locations down because many members of Starbucks’ New York City workforce don’t live in Manhattan, spokesperson Reggie Borges said.
“We did not want to risk a situation where they would not be easily able to return home if there was disruption to transit systems,” Borges said in an email to The Seattle Times. “We will be back open and ready to roll tomorrow.”
A sign posted on the window of one location on the Upper West Side said the store is temporarily closed. “Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We are working to re-open our store as quickly as possible,” it said.
No large-scale protests had been reported in Manhattan as of early Sunday afternoon. West Side Rag, a local publication, earlier reported the Starbucks decision.
Seattle Times staff contributed to this report.
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