Hanging out at Starbucks? You now need to order something

The new code of conduct for customers is part of the coffee giant's effort to make its stores more hospitable

- Heather Haddon

If you're walking into a Starbucks cafe, you now need to be prepared to buy something.

Starbucks this month is rolling out a new code of conduct at its cafes across North America, aiming to improve guests' and staff's safety and experience. Included in the shift is a reversal of a nearly seven-year policy of allowing the general public to linger or use the bathroom, regardless of whether they buy a latte or a croissant.

The new chain policies include adding signs banning harassment, violence, threatening language, outside alcohol, smoking and panhandling in its stores, according to employee notices viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The new code of conduct for customers is part of the coffee giant's effort to make its stores more hospitable, as it seeks to reverse a slide in customer traffic and falling sales.

"There is a need to reset expectations for how our spaces should be used, and who uses them," Starbucks North America President Sara Trilling said in a letter sent this week. Executives said customers need a clean, safe environment, and that employees have also shared concerns about the chain's open-to-all approach.

Starbucks since 2018 has allowed access to its cafes and bathrooms regardless of purchase. The policy was a response to the arrest of two men at one of its Philadelphia locations that year, after one of them attempted to use the bathroom while the other sat at a table.

Employees there told police that the men were trespassing because they hadn't bought anything, and refused to leave after they were denied use of the restroom, authorities said at the time.