Starbucks permanently closed its iconic store at Pike Place Market, marking the latest high-profile business closure in downtown, Democrat-run Seattle.
The coffee chain confirmed Tuesday to KOMO News it terminated the lease at First Avenue and Pike Street, across from the historic Pike Place Market.
Rampant crime and homelessness have been cited by numerous businesses, including Starbucks, for closing shop in the city.
“As a standard course of business, we regularly evaluate our store portfolio to determine how we can best meet our community and customers’ needs and ensure partners are supported in crafting beverages in a warm and welcoming environment,” a Starbucks spokesperson said.
“We look forward to continuing to serve the community and visitors at our other nearby locations, including the original store at 1912 Pike Place and 1st and University.”
The location initially closed temporarily in July 2024, according to The Seattle Times. Building leasing agent Adam Hasson confirmed Starbucks signed an early termination agreement this month.
The closure follows a pattern of Starbucks exits from downtown Seattle amid a significant uptick in crime.
In 2022, the company closed five Seattle locations citing safety concerns including theft, assault, and open drug use. The Westlake Center location near Westlake Park also closed that year.
“We just saw the for sale signs that went up, and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s like, actually real,'” said Deanna Cunningham, manager of Seattle Shirt Company across the street.
“The main focus is to have your customers feel comfortable, and if that isn’t happening, even if they are busy, it’s so many tourists that that’s their first interaction with Starbucks sometimes, and I understand that can deter people,” she said.
Crime rates have skyrocketed in recent decades in Seattle. The city’s violent crime reached its highest level in 15 years in 2022, according to the Seattle Police Department’s Year-End Crime Report.
That same year, 122 police officers resigned the city’s force.
“They will take anything that isn’t nailed down,” local businessman Peter Morse warned the Daily Caller News Foundation back in 2023. “No one wants to be a police officer now.”