Starbucks

Star*ucks just opened a new store near my house, but since I’ll never go there again I’ve had to find another place to feed my caffeine habit. Luckily in my neck of the woods there’s a better option for drive-through mocha maniacs: Dutch Bros. . . .

When a Dutch Bros. barista ventilated an armed robber in Eugene, Oregon a few years ago, the company founder didn’t fire him for violating company policy. Instead he did the right thing: he changed the stupid company policy and paid for employee leave and trauma counseling.

Even if you don’t live in Oregon, chances are you’ve got a local coffee shop that respects your rights. Pay them a visit, because Star*ucks has surrendered to Mayor Mikey and the Moms Demand Something civilian-disarmament cartel. They’ll get another dollar of my money never.

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131 COMMENTS

  2. When I read the letter, it sounded like they didn’t want to be ground Zero for a bunch of Open Carriers toting ARs.

    That they didn’t want to take sides, and they didn’t want to be a battleground.

    A private buisness should be able to do whatever the hell they want, in my opinion.

    • Right on the dot with this. Pro gunners got too overzealous with this. This is the same reason why it’s impossible to find ammo at decent prices, too. These people are almost as bad as the liberal sheep they’re trying to fight!

      • He is supporting fear, bigotry, intolerance and the suppression of a fundemental civil right. Oh, and also wishing for us to go into a free fire zone where the only ones carrying a gun are criminals and homicidal maniacs.

        If you think that is someone we should support with our money and patronage; then with a friend like you, who needs enemies?

      • In case you didn’t get the memo, they were probably protesting “douchetastic morons” like you. Some states allow long-gun open carry, but not handgun carry or open carry (TX is finally allowing concealed carry after a century of “gun control”).

    • A private buisness should be able to do whatever the hell they want, in my opinion.

      Absolutely. And a private citizen should also be able to do whatever the hell he wants, in my opinion, and this private citizen wants never to set foot in a Star*ucks ever.

    • Probably right, but they could try and articulate it better. The letter, as written, strongly implies that they are taking a side. The “we don’t want guns here” side.

  3. Dutch Bros. is pretty good coffee, too! Lots of ’em around this neck of the woods (Eastern WA and N’Idaho). Of course, lots of private, one-store places as well that I like to patronize. Actually!… good story:

    I’m in the drive-through of one of the dozens of these local, single-store coffee/espresso shops and I’m wearing one of those “I [heart] Guns & Coffee” shirts. The barista gets a glimpse of it under my seatbelt and basically yells at me and says, “Are you seriously wearing that shirt? I’m not sure I should serve you.” Now I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, and keep in mind I had just spent the last 11 years in San Francisco and only recently moved back to the conservative side of WA State, so I’m used to hoplophobia. Before I could respond, she says “OHhhhh!! Nevermind! I thought that was a Starbucks shirt! hahaha, sorry. It’s the guns one. Awesome. Okay that’s totally welcome. Just keep the Starbucks crap out of here.”

    LOVED IT! 😀

    • I really miss Dutch Bros coffee! Their coffee tastes good and they people they hire there are more responsive than the average Starbucks “the dream of the 90’s” zombie. (I know, not all are like this.) In Kansas we have Scooters which is similar to Dutch Bros and I like it better than Starbucks.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmq9dq6Nsg

      • Portlandia…that show is pretty funny. It’s not all that exaggerated, either. Not all are like that, of course, but I’ve known a few Portlanders who could step right into a Portlandia episode and not even realize it was a parody.

  4. I don’t have a problem never going to Starbucks for a coffee.
    As Ive never gone to them anyway.
    Now at least I have a good reason never to go.
    Caving in to a few dozen women who get all bent out of shape over the sight of an inanimate object……………
    I carry concealed anywhere I dammed well please too by the way. If a place doesn’t like it like my local FedEx. I have no issue taking my business elsewhere like going to the UPS store instead.

  5. Uhm for those who read the letter they are not banning guns. They as stated above requested that they don’t bring guns into the store. They also said employees will not confront gun owners.
    hhhmm so a policy that is not enforced, i.e. 30-06 signs or something along those lines is not policy.
    Concealed is just that, no one knows..
    So carry on folks, carry on..

    • This is why I’m a big fan of concealed carry, no one knows, providing one is good at concealing their gun(s)

    • Seconded.

      Be a sheep dog in sheeps clothing 😛

      Flamboyance doesn’t do anyone any good. When irrational people argue with rational ones on a national stage, it’s only a matter of time before public opinion turns on the irrational ones. I don’t think we’re terribly far off if CNN’s lefty commentators are starting to pick up on it.

    • I saw no mention of banning guns, just a polite request not to carry. As I sit here drinking my tall blonde (coffee people!) I respectfully decline his request while doing my best to follow all the applicable laws of my state. I sincerely hope they do not get to the point where they post the ban sticker, my morning routine would have to change.

  6. First off it’s the pro gunners fault for having 2nd Amendment Rallies in their stores when they said they were going to stay neutral on the issue. Once people started open carrying en masse it caught the attention of the antis and they boycotted their stores. This is their attempt to try to get away from this shitstorm that they asked NOT to be a part of. MAC shares a similar view.

    Second I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to CC without incident. People walking around with pistols strapped to their sides is what started this IMO.

    • If there are no signs, I have a feeling the occasional OC won’t even get bothered. Also remember these are franchises. Get a pro gun owner and guess what, it won’t cause any news flashes.

      • FYI, there are very few franchised Starbucks. The company has always opened and run its own stores with only limited exceptions. Some of the ones within supermarkets, colleges, airports, for instance, may be owned/operated by the location they’re in (under some sort of licensing or ‘franchise’ agreement). The vast majority you see, and certainly almost all of the self-standing ones, are corporate.

        I think reaction to a person open carrying would have more to do with the patrons and the feelings and familiarity with guns in a given area.

    • This is it exactly. They didn’t want to be ground zero for this fight, short-sighted open carriers forced them to be. I don’t blame them for asking us and the mommies to go squabble elsewhere.

      Seriously, Chris, “Star*ucks”? Grow up.

      • Right, because the obvious solution to not wanting to be part of the argument is to pick a clear side. *rolls eyes*

        • We forced them to pick a side, by having idiotic open carry rallies in their stores. If I had a business that had absolutely nothing to do with guns, and a bunch of activists decided to make my business ground zero for their political statements, I’d probably be a little less inclined to side with them, too.

          In any case, their “unenforced ban” isn’t exactly picking a clear side. They’re trying to split the baby and have it both ways.

        • Stinky, we didn’t force them to pick a side anymore than Morons Demand Victims did. The only thing is that the CEO agrees with the Morons, so he chose to side with them. Hopefully their stock drops like a rock now and said CEO ends up in the unemployment line.

        • I am pretty sure most of the people on here that are bashing those who chose to OC a rifle do not understand why we are choosing to do this. We are not picking fights with cops over this issue we are just out to inform the public. Those who choose not to come ask us what we are doing and why are ignorant and by doing this are choosing a side. For those of yall wanting to learn about our purpose look up Open Carry Texas.

        • mat, has it occurred to you that there might be better ways to educate the public than carrying an AR-15 into a coffee shop? I agree with the end goal of the OC guys: normalizing firearms in public so it’s not a full-on panic every time someone sees a gun. I get that. But going straight to the ARs and tactical shotguns is maybe not the best choice in a world where there are dozens of media outlets spending tons of airtime demonizing gun owners and publicizing the hell out of (extremely rare) spree killings as though they happen every day. So isn’t it at least a little bit understandable that people may not respond to that form of “education” too warmly?

          While it might be true that some open carry activists are truly trying to educate people, there are quite a few videos on YouTube that seem to indicate at least some percentage of them are attention-seekers, just looking to provoke a reaction.

      • Sometimes you don’t get to pick where a “battle” is going to be. I didn’t want to wast time writing letters and calling politicians and going to rallies and meetings to preserve the 2A the past year . . . or 30 years for that matter, but I had to do it because of The Brady Bunch, HCI, Holder, Biden, Bloomer, Feinstink, Lautenbooger, et al. I don’t want a shootout in my living room, but when some s.o.b. kicks in my door, they will get one.

  7. Almost every locality has more than one place to buy overpriced coffee. Starbucks leads due to marketing, not an exceptionally better product. I bought coffee this morning (Tacoma, WA) at Tully’s. Not too bad. Dunkin’ donuts has also been advertising recently and given their reputation for LEOs I doubt they have a no gun policy on record. Almost any truck stop sells reasonably decent coffee and most Stop & Robs/Quickie Marts, although I avoid 7-Eleven since I am aware of their corporate anti-gun policy and that they will fire any employee that dares to defend themselves on the job. Our choices are not limited. I suggest we utilize our free market options and let Starbucks dangle for awhile until they decide if the increased instances of robbery and assault in their stores outweighs risking the disapproval of Whacky Moms against or the increase in their insurance payments to cover customer injury lawsuits.

    • Stop N Robs and Quickie Marts only have decent coffee if the person on duty is a coffee drinker. i.e., knows better than to leave the stuff in the pot for hours on end and not clean the pot between brewings. I’ve taken to brewing my own (walmart Folgers) and filling a thermos. The full Gibbs* here. Black, straight up. Best cup I ever had came from a can of Astor (Winn-Dixie’s house label which, alas, isn’t available in this neck o’the woods. Folgers is not too far off.)

      *Gratuitous NCIS reference

      • “The Full Gibbs” is a Hollywood myth. (Sorry to burst your bubble);-) The FULL part, at least, not the straight, black, strong and hot part.

        If you watch VERY carefully you will see by the way they are handled that on NCIS, as on most other TV shows, the coffee cups are ALWAYS empty. FWIW

  8. Just sent this polite note to Starbucks Inc.:

    I am disappointed that you gave into pressure from a vocal minority that speaks for few people and made it corporate policy to make your establishments unwelcome to legal gun owners. I can go along with a policy that bans open carry but concealed means concealed. Nobody knows that I am carrying a firearm when I am in my local Starbucks. If someone wants to live with the illusion that nobody would ever bring a gun into Starbucks I am willing to let them continued to fool themselves.

    This is a bad business decision on your part. Nobody is going to come to your stores because guns are unwelcome but I can tell you that people who do carry or are sympathetic to gun rights will not. What is good for business in Newtown Connecticut is not good for business in Loveland or Fort Collins Colorado. I think you are going regret this decision.

    • Imagine you won’t be spending any time here in sunny Arizona…

      We have a “state” policy of OPEN CARRY!

      • Virginia is a Constitutional open carry state.

        Just remember that you get farther with kind word and a gun than a kind word alone but sometimes softening your words gets your point across better.

  10. Oh man, no more sh!tty overpriced coffee, how will I survive? *faints*

    I don’t understand the hullabaloo over this. Maybe it’s because I don’t carry open or otherwise but if I were to carry concealed in one of their spots the hell are they gonna say about it? If it really really bothers you that much, find a better (cheaper) coffee shop or make your own.

  13. Paying $5 for a cup of coffee is dumb anyway. It costs me 25¢ to make a pot of our local premium brew.

    That aside, Star*ucks always struck me as a Portlandia type of joint. I never thought they were one of us, they were just smart about trying to get our $$ (by staying out of politics) until now.

    • I must be the only one that occasionally goes to Starbucks for a plain drip coffee, about $1. I think their dark roast is pretty good, but the people that tend to not like it also seem to be fans of the Dunkin Donuts water-with-coffee flavor.

      • Nope, I’m with you. Why pay $5 for something that requires speaking 15 syllables and will just make you fat? Gimme the straight up dark roast you can stand a spoon in. If I don’t have access to a coffee pot. And I’ll go without coffee before I’ll drink that gas station or McDonalds dishwater.

        Open carry may be our right, but with all of the low information voters who have drunk the MSNBC koolaid afraid of their own shadow, it’s not necessarily a good idea. It freaks out a lot more people than the MDA twits. I can understand Starbucks not wanting to have a mass exodus and a potentially damaging loss of business because of the hysteria and fear the regime and the BSM (thanks for the excellent title, though I can’t remember your handle at the moment) have instilled in the sheeple.

        I will continue to patronize them, with my XDS tucked safely out of sight.

        • If you haven’t tried McDonalds coffee in a while, you might be surprised. They changed their brew a couple years ago and I like their drip coffee more than Star*ucks now.

    • Living in the greater PDX metropolitan area, I can assure you that Starbucks is one of the least Portlandian coffee places around.

  14. I just posted on my facebook that I am banning them as long as this ban is enforced by the company. I want them to hurt in their bottom line.

  17. Talk about bringing out the worst on both sides. StarBucks attempted to remain neutral via their local laws, while MDA got you all way over juiced and turned their business into a battle front about something that normally would have just run it’s course.

  18. Starbucks has the right and I will respect that right. However, since they are not doing it from a strong belief of their own, but only to cave into anti-gun moms, Starbucks has seen the last dollar from me. They had a good product, wished they would have survived this mess.

  19. OK, What ban? Starbucks did not ban anything. They asked for people to not bring guns into stores. They didn’t say you couldn’t. They actually said they wouldn’t do anything if you did. Just what the he!! do you all want. If you all hate Starbucks coffee why were you going there anyway, and just how much will your boycott hurt them? If you did like Starbucks coffee and carried a gun in there, you can still do that! Take a breath, fight a fight that needs to be fought. Show that your an adult, not some six year old. You didn’t have anything taken away.

    • Thank you. It appears that possibly four people actually took the time to read the memo. The rest appear to be coloring in the Os and yelling about the “ban.”

    • If you get right down to it, all they said was that you need to keep your weapon out of sight. Just like you keep you other gun out of sight until you need it. “Excuse me while I whip this out….”

    • Show that your an adult, not some six year old.

      It’s “you’re,” as in you are, not “your” as in you have. I learned that as a six year old, so you must be five.

      Don’t chide anyone until you learn to spell, okay?

    • I used the word unwelcome in my note them specifically because I am fully aware that they didn’t ban guns. In post in the first TTAG post on the subject I stated that I believed they are trying to discourage open carry not concealed carry. However, this is a lesson to fence sitters on any issue. At some point you have to get on one side or the other. I believe that Starbucks has been forced of the fence on the anti-side. That is bad business decision.

      • Kinda like the boycott of Dick’s that lasted exactly until they got some ammo in stock during the Great Ammo Panic of 2013.

        • I, for one, still boycott dicks. I’ll go there to see what size shoe fits, or what the material is like in camo, but I’ll then mail order. Geez, I miss G I Joes sporting goods…

  21. Just to keep you in the loop: I’ve written an editorial on the Starbucks non-ban ban for USA Today. Should appear USA Tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

  22. It’s easy to appreciate why, for business reasons, Starbucks does not want its cafes to turn into a political battleground.

    On the other hand, part of their business model was to create a sort of public space, like the cafes of Europe. By those standards, contentious and even subversive politics should be right at home in a Starbucks. Unfortunately the “Bourgeois Bohemian” mindset of many patrons is actually quite hostile towards the slightest deviation from community norms, which in this case are being challenged by open carriers.

      • Well, I’m pretty sure those are illegal and not covered by the second amendment. But you’re right, there are ultimately limits that have to be set. It’s just interesting, and perhaps predictable, that Starbucks would become the battleground to debate what those limits should be.

  23. Screw Schultz and his company. He doesn’t care about anyone or doing the right thing. He proved that long ago when he purposely sold the Sonics to people he knew were going to move the team to Oklahoma City. I was willing to begrudgingly give him a pass because he was standing up for the second amendment but he just proved he’s a no good turncoat yet again.

  24. Okay, I read the post, I watched his press release, am I missing something? He’s basically saying, from what I can tell, “we don’t care what happens underneath your clothes, but please, put a damn vest on.” He did not ban anything. I’m not anti-open carry, but I think we should have been a bit more tasteful with the “Starbucks appreciation days”. Kudos to those with tact that said to the manager, with their pistol tucked out of sight, “thank you for not infringing on my rights.” To all those that flooded the business with condition one 1911s strapped to their hips, you polarized the customer base and they are running a business. Tact open carriers. Tact. I seriously doubt that MDA had nearly as much to do with this as we did.

    • It was MDA who protested Starbucks ‘neutrality’ and goaded OC activists into staging their “appreciation day.” Allegedly.

      Starbucks is primarily frequented and staffed by liberals… that has been my experience with every Starbucks I’ve visited and I think it is an accurate and popular conception. Starbucks was being mocked on Late Night TV for their neutrality on guns and the anti-2A fanatics were in fact attempting to boycott them.

      What the CEO of Starbucks actually requested is that you not bring a gun at all, but this is a “request” – corporate instructions state the gun bearer is only to be asked to leave if they cause a “disturbance.” Disturbance is left undefined.

      It is not an open carry only statement. This is a guy who, years ago, exposed his ignorance in a board meeting by suggesting that people could not carry loaded guns. Starbucks was never our friend and they are denouncing ALL forms of carry as being contrary to the environment they try to create and they urge you, ever so gently, to abstain from doing it in their stores.

      • He has come out and said that no one will be asked to leave. It’s just a request, and yes, they are liberals. So why are we surprised/upset? I truly believe that the way his press release was worded, he’s not concerned about CC. Just doesn’t want to have to hear about it.

  25. Really a surprise here? If I didn’t care about guns one way or another, or was mildly pro/against them, and suddenly a bunch of opencarry tards started lugging AR’s into get non-fat latte’s, then I’d ask them to cut the crap out too. Especially when the opencarry-ers are just trying to provoke a confrontation.

    It’s nice to not worry about flashing my carry piece, or being able to keep my OWB holster on after I’ve been walking around in the woods. Open carry idiots, don’t ruin it for all of us.

  26. Dutch brothers doesn’t brew coffee.
    I’ll just ignore the request and make my weekly stop at Starbucks.

  27. The pro 2A community is very good at turning inward and threatening to boycott firearm related companies that sell to (or are sympathetic with) state and local governments that want to restrict or eliminate gun rights. Any such effort against Starbucks would be futile. It is doubtful that even Shannon Watts (MDA) and Mayor Bloomberg (MAIG) would be able to mobilize a similar boycott against this company. However, we may be taking the wrong approach. The gun rights movement has been on defense for to long. How do we get on offense? Bloomberg has some PR damage to himself (with sugary drinks, infant formula and pain killer restrictions in NY hospitals) ; however, he is still going strong. Meanwhile, Shannon Watts is not the “stay at home” concerned mom that is doing all of this “for the children.” She is a professional PR expert and Democratic activist that craves attention. Moreover, she has turned her gun control organization into a cash machine fed by the Bloomberg money train. Rather than punishing Starbucks, maybe it would be more productive to show that Shannon Watts (and Bloomberg) are elitist hypocrites. Any suggestions, or am I way off base?

  28. This would be a great time for Dunkin Donuts to make a blog post telling gun owners that they’re more than welcome to bring their guns to DD.

  29. The only reason I ever set foot in Starbucks is for business purposes or to get free coffee from a girl I know. Local coffee shops FTW. Although it still doesn’t matter, no sign on the door still means conceal carry is ok.

  30. I wonder if this liberal turds (Schultz) views on guns would change if, say a mass shooting were stopped at one of his stores by an armed customer (Sheepdog)? Probably not. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

  31. As a CHL Instructor for the State of Texas, I always tell my students the following: If you cannot respect their right to say no to your carrying a gun in their place, then why should they respect your right to carry a gun. The 2nd Amendment is not about our rights, but our responsibility to defend everyone’s rights.

    With that said: Simply understand that those of us that are licensed to carry a firearm want to share the coffee shop at Starbucks while those that are anti gun do not want to share with those that do not think like them (bigots).

    Therefore, I would encourage my students to respect the anti-gunner’s need to exclude those that they do not respect. I will encourage my students to purchase coffee from a more respectable organization. I simply cannot patronize an organization that would be willing to support a group that has no tolerance for others; racist, sexist, or bigots!

  33. For fudge sakes stop whinning….You call your self a Patriot, for freedom, then God bless. I am not going to throw a hissy fit. I don’t go to Starbucks because it’s too expensive. I do buy their coffee beans at the grocery store. I grind my own beans and make lattes with a expensive expresso machine. in fact I’m eating in a restaurant that said no weapons allowed. Freedom…. I don’t live my life for guns. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for guns as a hobby and self defense. I carry every day. Don’t be hypocrites.

  34. PUBLICLY ADVERTISED AND PUBLICLY SUPPORTED BOYCOTT.. PERIOD .
    Put out the word to different gun organizations and all of your friends.
    I stopped going there a number of years back when a Marine unit in Iraq tried to talk them into donating some coffee for the boys and girls in uiniform, and the same asshole that made the no guns statement said “WE at STARBUCKS do not support war and we will NOT send any coffee to the soldiers.

  35. Starbucks was at one time neutral about open carry in their stores. They allowed it and did not make a fuss, but neither did they encourage it and openly advocate for gun owners to bring their guns into the stores. Then, open carry advocates used Starbucks as places to rally and demonstrate against STATES proposing to ban open carry (California being first and foremost [and ending-up losing that fight]). That caused anti-gun groups like MDA to notice and start screaming about guns in Starbucks and how dangerous they were to them and their children. Both the pro-gun and anti-gun factions picked Starbucks for their political activism demonstrations, and the pro-gun people started it. Now Starbucks has “taken a side” (Really? It’s more like been forced to state their druthers…), and gun owners are condemning them because anti-gun people are trying to claim some sort of “win”,,,,or so, we seem to think.

    This is a fight Starbucks did not invite or encourage, and I am impressed with the fact they did not completely knuckle under to the anti-gunners, but chose to take a moderate stance on the matter.

    I say gun owners should continue to patronize Starbucks, open carry or conceal carry as they please. Be nice to the Starbucks Staff and thumb our noses at the anti-gunners by acting as if nothing happened whatsoever. And definitely LEAVE Starbucks out of our political activities…leave them in peace, which is probably what they would have preferred in the first place….

  37. My Dad always said “A corporation has no soul”, which is true despite the Citizens United case. Sbux is in the coffee business, and are beholden to their shareholders. I think the pro gun folks read WAY too much into their neutrality statement that they would follow the law.

    I think open carry should be allowed everywhere, but until people don’t freak out about it I don’t have time/money to deal with being an activist for it. I also don’t want to end up in jail for doing something legal because a LEO is having a bad day. Going to jail sucks, ask anybody that is not a criminal that has been there.

    In my opinion, the pro 2A OC demonstrators and the MDA screeching moms made Sbux nervous. Sbux wants stores where people feel welcome, not Occupy Starbucks out front with the anti-Occupy Starbucks going on across the street. The radical elements on our side sometimes take things too far and hurt our cause, as do the same fringe on the anti-gun side (although their fringe starts towards the middle). Boycott all you want, I need my Starbucks.

  38. All you folks so mad about Starbucks, you are the same crew walking around, showing off your open carry at the stores a few weeks ago, right?

    So, in essence: the women invited you to their battleground, where they talked about ‘the children’ and ‘keeping them safe’ and ‘this is where we come to talk to the other mommies every morning’ and you guys countered with showing up, in force, open carrying?

    What a great job those ladies did setting you up for the kill. And you marched in there, 100% on your own power. Kudos.

    Imagine, instead, the Mommies did this for a few weeks and no one came? After a few weeks fewer Mommies came and after a month the whole issue was totally forgotten.

    Escalation = You meeting the Mommies on their battleground, in their battle with their rules.

    The only way to win is not to play. Or change the game. Playing their game? Nope, no how, no way.

  39. For what it’s worth, here’s what I sent to Starbucks HQ today.
    ——
    Dear Mr. Schultz,

    I was very disappointed to learn that you’ve decided legally carried weapons should not be part of your coffeehouse experience.

    As a gun owner and coffee lover who sometimes (rarely) open-carries and makes good use of my state concealed-carry license, I really appreciated Starbucks’ position that franchises should abide by local laws and let patrons make their own decisions. In this era of politicized cultural warfare, it was refreshing to see a high-profile company stay above the fray.

    I can also see that the vociferous rallies staged by some gun owners caused problems for Starbucks—problems you didn’t ask for or deserve.

    But I’m asking you to reconsider your request.

    I realize you were dragged into this polarized debate against your will, and I have no hard feelings. Yet however respectful the request, it makes all gun owners feel unwelcome.

    Perhaps we’re being oversensitive about this, but after decades of being painted as closet crazies and borderline criminals merely for exercising a civil right, and especially after the vitriol that followed the tragedy in Newtown (I recall celebrities and pundits Tweeting calls to kill NRA members), even simple neutrality feels like an occasion for celebration.

    Please don’t hold the actions of an overzealous minority against us. As a gun owner, I can assure you that the vast majority of us don’t want to disrupt anyone’s day. We just want to live our convictions and drink our coffee in peace.

    On the anti-gun “Skip Starbucks Saturdays,” I made it a point to go to the local Starbucks and quietly enjoy my usual cup of coffee. On the pro-gun “Starbucks Appreciation Day,” I appreciated my favorite Starbucks coffee in the same anonymous way.

    After the protests and demonstrations have faded away, the nation’s 100 million gun owners will still be carrying weapons (as is our right) and drinking coffee.

    But whose coffee will we be drinking?

    For my part, I’ll continue to enjoy Starbucks coffee at home. And when I carry my concealed pistol in public—as I nearly always do—I’ll respect your wishes and go to some other coffee shop.

    I won’t demand your support for my favorite cause. I just hope you’ll consider a return to full neutrality. If you do, I’ll celebrate it with a full cup of coffee. Starbucks, of course.

    Thanks for listening.

    • now look what you’ve done!!! you’ve shown the world (and tha majority of TTAG’s blogstars) that gun owners can actually stop and show critical thinking skills by analyzing the five W’s.

      oh wait….

  40. If the performance of their website is any indication, they are getting a ration today. Looking at the comments, it’s looking about 3:1 FOAD:GOOD ON YA.

  41. I find these threads on Starbucks interesting. A lot of attacking fellow gun owners, a lot of attacking Starbucks, etc.

    Many are saying Starbucks is ok with concealed carry in their stores after this statement. Perhaps I am missing it, but I did not see “wink wink you know what I REALLY mean when I say to not bring weapons into Starbucks. Concealed carry is all good” at the end of the statement. All I saw was a statement that expressed the wish that no customers would bring in ANY weapons, concealed or open.

    Many are attacking gun owners who open carry, or the “d-bags” who carry AR15’s, for “forcing Starbucks to pick a side”. First, are you a d-bag for shooting an AR15 at a gun range? Why not? There are unfortunately many gun owners who find them scary…we should not shove our black rifles down their throats, right? Second, Starbucks was not forced to choose a side. The side had already been chosen. They were pressured into REVEALING the choice that had already been made. I, for one, prefer to know unequivocally where a company stands on something that is important to me, especially if I might give them my business.

    Some claim the attention given to Starbucks by MDA was the result of gun owners having “Starbucks Appreciation” days. While the efforts by MDA intensified after the appreciation days became noteworthy, MDA/MAIG/etc have been putting pressure on many companies for some time to adopt anti-gun policies.

    I totally agree that Starbucks has the right to ask its patrons to not bring weapons into its stores. I also have no issue with those who choose to spend their money elsewhere as a result of this decision.

    • I think the “wink wink” part is the fact that many if not most states have laws saying local businesses have little recourse for enforcing their policy. If nobody sees your gun, they are less likely to ask you to leave.

      It would be funny to print up shirts to wear to Sbux that are high contrast and say “There is a REALLY STRONG chance I’m carrying a CONCEALED WEAPON and you would have NO IDEA if not for this T Shirt” or something along those lines and have a bunch of dudes show up wearing those shirts packing concealed. Sends a lot of the same message while being several notches down on the flamboyance scale. Or carry concealed with one of those Open Carry T- Shirts (you know the ones with the photorealistc 1911 in a shoulder holster TTAG linked a while ago?). That would be pretty funny.

  42. Local talk radio had an interesting spin on this today. Keeping in mind that a local bar was fined a couple hundred thou for telling some trannies he didn’t want them in his bar, (civil rights violation), why not bring suit against Starbucks for civil rights violation?

  44. Perhaps you should boycott banks, hospitals, and federal buildings. They don’t want you to have a weapon, even concealed. And these policies have been in effect for years.

  45. Rule #1:
    Don’t be a jerk
    Rule #2
    Make your own dam coffee and carry a thermos, like your dad, and his dad did!

  46. I may live in Mexico where we have little to no gun rights and this doesn’t affect me, but I’ll support American gun owners by not going to Starbucks. Their coffee sucks anyway. I will miss the pastries though…

  47. I will move my families $4800 a year budget item from Starbucks to Dutch Brothers. I will start going there tomorrow.

    • That’s a lot of cabbage for beans. I home brew. I like your point, however. Just go to another great outfit and help the little guy.

    • Excellent choice!

      Dutch Bros. coffee is actually much better than Starbucks coffee anyways.

      You will taste the difference immediately.

      • Yup. Perfect time to look around and find something better, and not be caught up in the commercial colossus with the name brand hype that is StarF@*ks.

  49. I just go to the store, get a jar of the least expensive instant they have, go home, add hot water and drink it with or without as many guns as I want carried openly or concealed or whatever. No one bothers me and I get the caffeine effect every time. Am I doing it wrong?

    • Cowboy, they make cheap machines that grind and brew excellent beans that you can buy for not much more. For a little more cabbage, you can step up SEVERAL levels in quality………all while fondling your favorite…er…gun.

  50. I don’t view this as a victory for MDA, Starbucks totally hedged, like any business beset upon by FOWGs with scary black guns in “support” of the establishment. If I were running the show I would have done the same thing, but with language that came across as more of an earnest plea rather than what they came out with.

    I think Starbucks has an outstanding product, I don’t go there unless I have a gift card but my office uses Starbucks Office coffee, which is the finest office coffee for anywhere I’ve worked. You have to prefer coffee with a heavier body to enjoy Starbucks, and that’s not for everyone.

  51. I don’t think that armored-limousine Bloomburg is a hypocrite; he is not lying when he says that he wants to limit the defense options of citizens.
    He’s just inconsistent because, while disarming others, he arms himself (or his guards) nicely.

    Would hypocrisy be proclaiming non-disarmament while actually supporting disarmament?

  52. Why are people so surprised this happened?

    Starbucks Does Not Give a Shit About Your Gun Rights, Okay?

    Starbucks is concerned with one line item – the bottom line. The vocal minority of open carry advocates presented risk of financial exposure to that profit margin, and Starbucks acted accordingly.

    “Well, fuck them! I’m taking my money elsewhere!” – Good for you. Our collective buying power represents so little market share for Starbucks that it was likely not even debated internally as to whom to exclude.

    To parrot the rights of capitalism and then to whine when we don’t get our way is the worst kind of hypocrisy. Shut up, get over it, and try not to fuck anything else up.

  55. I must stop vacationing in Mexico, every time I do – some nut shoots up people on the east coast. With this spurious logic, I can now really get behind Howard “the douche who sold the Sonics to a carpetbagging Oklahoman” Schultz’s Starbucks policy.

  57. The cardio doc said I can’t have coffee or chew no more, said it makes my seizures worse. My neuro agrees. I’ll give up the coffee but me and Redman will just will just have to be epileptic together. Maybe my lack of business will be the straw that breaks their back.

  58. I own AR’s and other MSR’s. I shoot them regularly, often in small groups with other people who shoot similar rifles. I often keep one in my SUV even when I don’t intend to shoot it, however I only carry it from the house to the truck, truck to the range, or perhaps into the LGS. I certainly wouldn’t think to take my rifle into a coffee shop, it’s unnecessary and inconvenient.

    While I understand the goals the open carriers have and I support normalizing guns in public, I’d frankly be a little uncomfortable with someone packing a rifle into the coffee shop I was patronizing. By uncomfortable I mean expecting a violent incident for at least several seconds until I was able to reassure myself they meant no harm.

    Now, if a life long gunner, Ardent supporter of 2a, veteran of some vary harry situations and all around gun guy who’s spent more time wearing a gun and hanging out in armed groups than not gets a mini panic when someone strolls into a store with an AR-15 I think it’s safe to assume that a more ‘average’ citizen is probably uncomfortable enough to want the heck out of there and to prevent a repeat performance.

    I’ve tried to avoid taking sides on the open carry thing, and I’m still going to hedge, but packing a rifle into a coffee shop is irresponsible, harmful to business and just plain dumb. Even if it squeaks by being illegal by way of causing a public disturbance it’s still a very bad idea.

    I can’t blame Starbucks for their new position. The more radical elements of the RTBA movement made it a business problem. It’s got me thinking that if I owned a non-gun related business I’d have a sticker on the door too, something along the lines of ‘un-holstered handguns and rifles not in a container prohibited’.

    I suppose the 1a allows you to stand on a corner and shout nonsense all day, but you’ll look stupid doing it, and if you do it in a McDonalds their going to ask you to stop or leave.
    Starbucks is basically doing the equivalent of asking people to stop shouting inside their store, and that’s reasonable.

  59. Think about it this way: If people started making a fuss about… let us say, “Blacks”… being at Starbucks. Would the owner have put out a letter saying, “Not saying ‘no’, but if the Blacks would be so kind as to not bring anything that would indicate that they are proud of their culture or heritage, that would be nice”.

    But wait! That would be bigoted, Right? So why is it that we can be so comfortable with Starbucks owner saying, “Not saying ‘no’, but if you free people would not bring anything that would indicate that you are proud of your culture or heritage, that would be nice”.

    Well, either way, it sure would please and appease the bigots and control freaks. So I think I will appease them by asking all my friends and students to simply avoid the bigots. Is that not what we teach in Nonviolent Dispute Resolution????

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