Starbucks’ Howard Schultz opens bathrooms to all after Philly incident
Following the uproar over the way two African-American men were treated at a Philadelphia location last month, Starbuck’s executive chairman Howard Schultz announced plans to open its restrooms to anyone who wants to use them — whether they’re a paying customer or not.
"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 because you are less than. We want you to be more than," Schultz said on Thursday during a talk at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
The new policy comes after Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested after they asked to use the bathroom but an employee told them it was only for paying customers and when they sat down at a table in the store without ordering anything, the manager called police.
Schultz added the company’s previous policy of only allowing paying customers to use the restroom was pretty “loose” in the first place but following the backlash of the Philadelphia incident, the company decided the completely end it.
Last month, Starbuck’s CEO Kevin Johnson personally apologized to the men in a face-to-face meeting and announced plans to close its 8,000 company-owned stores on May 29 for a racial bias training.
Schultz, who stepped down as the CEO of Starbucks last April, said the incident overall was “absolutely wrong in every way.”
Starbucks didn’t immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for further details about its new bathroom policy.