For those needing a caffeine jolt this afternoon, don’t look for Starbucks to give what you need. The coffee giant temporarily closed its company-owned stores across Baton Rouge—and the country—for three hours of anti-bias training and a conversation on race in America.
Starbucks locations in Baton Rouge will reopen Wednesday morning.
The company is tight-lipped about training specifics, but officials say each store received a toolkit—featuring videos from Starbucks executives and hip hop artist Common—for in-house employee training.
Experts estimate the nationwide closure of some 8,000 stores could cost Starbucks $12 million in lost profits.
Most of the chain’s 7,000 licensed stores, however—such as those operating on college campuses, and inside hotels and airports—remained open.
Today’s training session is focusing on understanding racial bias and the history of public accommodations in the United States. Future training sessions will address “all aspects of bias and experiences,” according to a corporate press release, though it’s unclear when future training sessions will occur.
This all comes in the aftermath of Starbucks making national headlines in April after a Philadelphia store manager called 911 on two African-American men who were waiting for a friend at the coffee shop. The men were arrested for trespassing but later released after Starbucks didn’t press charges.
