Shop Talk

Starbucks outlines gun policy amid fracas

Last month, we wrote a blog about a controversy over Starbucks decision not to ban guns in its cafes.

The fracas started when groups of pistol-packing, open-carry gun rights activists exercised their rights by visiting Northern California restaurants and cafes. Their actions prompted companies like Peet’s Coffee & Tea and California Pizza Kitchen to prohibit firearms in their outlets. But Starbucks, even when pressed by the influential Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has declined to follow suit — a position that has been lauded by gun rights supporters and condemned by people who only want to see the police and military packing heat at Starbucks.

The controversy refuses to go away and Starbucks released a new statement on the issue:

“We recognize that there is significant and genuine passion surrounding the issue of open carry weapons laws. Advocacy groups from both sides of this issue have chosen to use Starbucks as a way to draw attention to their positions. While we deeply respect the views of all our customers, Starbucks long-standing approach to this issue remains unchanged.

On the front lines of the coffee war

By Laura Isensee

On her way to work in downtown Los Angeles, banker Teresa Roman recently picked up a large iced vanilla coffee. Her cup had no green mermaid, the iconic Starbucks symbol. Instead, it displayed McDonald’s famed golden arches.

Roman switched from Starbucks iced coffee to McDonald’s when the fast-food giant started selling lattes, mochas and cappuccinos as part of its McCafe beverage expansion that launched officially earlier this year.