Starbucks is closing thousands of café-only stores across the US, keeping drive-thrus open and paying workers for 30 days whether they come to work or not

Starbucks is closing café-only stores across the US, temporarily shuttering thousands of locations because of the coronavirus outbreak.
All workers will be paid for the next 30 days whether they go to work or stay home.
Starbucks will switch to a drive-thru- and delivery-only model for the next two weeks.
More than 35,000 people have signed a Coworker.org petition started by a Starbucks employee that calls for the coffee giant to suspend its business because of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Starbucks is temporarily closing its traditional café-only stores for two weeks, moving to a drive-thru- and delivery-only model.

All workers will be paid for the next 30 days whether they go to work or stay home.

The coffee giant told employees on Friday that it would close all cafés and exclusively use a drive-thru and delivery model starting on Saturday. Customers can use the Starbucks app to check which locations near them are still operating.

Select locations in and around hospitals and healthcare facilities will remain open with employees who are willing to work in these environments. Licensed locations, such as those in grocery stores, will remain open.

The decision represents the most widespread closure in the chain-restaurant industry, as major national chains like McDonald's and Dunkin' attempt to continue carryout services in which customers order at the counter.

Nearly 60% of Starbucks locations have drive-thru capabilities, a number that has increased in recent years. Starbucks has more than 8,500 company-operated stores in the US.

Some workers have been asking Starbucks to close locations to encourage social distancing

starbucks barista

Foto: A barista at Starbucks. Source: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

On Sunday, the coffee chain announced it would move to a to-go model in all company-owned stores in the US and Canada for at least two weeks, pausing the use of all seating, modifying condiment bars, and closing some stores in "high-social gathering locations," such as malls and colleges. It also said it would shutter stores and cut hours in areas with high clusters of COVID-19 cases.

After the announcement, some employees pushed for Starbucks to take more aggressive action to encourage social distancing. As of Friday, more than 35,000 people have signed a Coworker.org petition calling for Starbucks to suspend its business because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"We are made to feel guilty for not wanting to serve our communities in a time like this. However, Starbucks needs to serve its people right now," one worker told Business Insider earlier this week.

"By suspending operations, we'd be further serving our communities by limiting the potential to spread this virus even further. We'd be able to have some peace of mind and isolating so that we could see our older family members, and we'd further be able to support our children, who are home from school during a pandemic," the employee added.

Fast-food executives - including the president of McDonald's US business and the CEOs of Chick-fil-A, Papa John's, and Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons - spoke with President Donald Trump earlier this week about the role of chain restaurants during the coronavirus. Executives emphasized chains' abilities to serve communities during the outbreak while people are social distancing and trying to "flatten the curve" as the coronavirus spreads.