Starbucks will close Monument Circle location, spokesperson says

The downtown Starbucks located in the Circle Tower Building on Monument Circle will close Oct. 28, a Starbucks spokesperson said Friday. The company cited safety concerns as the reason.

“We routinely review the partner and customer experience in our stores, to see if the store is thriving, (employees) are feeling supported, and that we are meeting customer needs," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Our local leaders are, and have always been, empowered to use the many resources at their disposal to modify store operations and create the best experience for our communities. But when necessary, we will make the decision to close a store."

Indianapolis police have responded to the address of the Starbucks at least 11 times since the start of the year, but not all of those calls were to the store, according to IMPD data available online, which provides limited details.

Complete data for the amount of times police responded to the Monument Circle area is not currently available, IMPD said.

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"Downtown is one of the safest places in our city. Downtown accounts for less than 5% of all crime throughout the city of Indianapolis," IMPD Downtown District Cmdr. Phil Burton said.

Burton said Starbucks never communicated safety concerns to IMPD.

"It's really unfortunate that this business is closing even though they're citing safety concerns," Burton said. "We've done a lot to keep downtown safe."

Officers downtown patrol downtown several times throughout their shift by walking, biking or driving the area, he said. Day, middle and late shift officers, as well as off-duty officers patrol hotspot areas downtown, such as the canal, he also said. Officers are also encouraged to maintain an open line of communication with businesses during patrols.

The Starbucks spokesperson said that their "priority is to make sure their partners are safe at work."

Current employees at the Circle Tower Building will be given the opportunity to transfer to a different location.

There was a for-lease sign from Newmark on the outside of the Starbucks on Friday afternoon. IndyStar reached out to the representatives the company listed on the sign, but they did not immediately respond to request for comment.

There have been several other closures across the country — including one Starbucks location among the first to unionize in Chicago, the Sun-Times reported, and the first unionized café location in Colorado Springs, according to Colorado Public Radio. The store closure in Colorado Springs also cited safety-related issues as the reason for closing.

The Starbucks spokesperson said this Indianapolis location had not petitioned to unionize nor unionized. IndyStar spoke with workers at the store who said they are "not allowed" to talk about the closure.

IndyStar reached out to Starbucks Workers United, but they did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Earlier this year the company issued a letter to employees related to safety and giving actions the company would take to address the issue, including permanently closing stores.

One month before the letter, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, said in an interview with The New York Times that the company was considering ending its "open bathroom" policy, as he claimed growing mental health crises made it difficult for employees to manage Starbucks stores.

"There is an issue of just safety in our stores," he said, "in terms of people who will coming who will use our stores as a public bathroom, and we have to provide a safe environment for our people and our customers."

“We have to harden our stores and provide safety for our people,” Schultz added.

In that interview, Schultz also addressed his thoughts on unions. He is "not anti-union," he said, but believes there is an overwhelming perception that businesses are the enemy.

"We don't believe that a third party should lead our people," he said. "So we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our people. And we are going to be successful."

This article will update.

Contact IndyStar trending reporter Claire Rafford at crafford@gannett.com or on Twitter @clairerafford.