America Today: A Starbucks Where You Can’t Sit, a Walgreens Where You Can’t Shop

The sentence was simple, but jarring: “A sad, sick statement about our City.” It was contained in a notification I received from Nextdoor.com, the app designed to help neighborhood residents communicate with each other.

How could I not click on that?

The link led to a story about a Los Angeles area Starbucks (close to my neighborhood) that had removed seating in the name of safety. That particular Starbucks is located in an upscale outdoor mall anchored by a supermarket, a pharmacy, several restaurants, and specialty shops (and back in the day, a Blockbuster—remember those?). It’s the kind of place where you should feel safe in this country.

Not in today’s America. The coffee chain has decided to yank the seats out in the name of “safety.” Watch:

A sign on the door simply reads:

Seating is temporarily unavailable at this location. Due to safety concerns for our customers and partners, we have removed seating temporarily at this location. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused during your visit to our store.

Starbucks issued a statement saying, “Our first priority is to make sure our partners are safe at work,” but they did not clarify what even prompted the decision:

It’s unclear if a specific incident prompted the change or when the coffee shop in the 10900 block of Ventura Boulevard removed its seating, but complaints posted on social media over the decision date back to late April. The move comes nearly a year after the popular coffee chain closed six stores in the Los Angeles area due to “challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate.”

As I reported in July 2022, the coffee purveyor had to close 16 locations across the nation due to safety concerns. Why? We all know the answer to that: a homelessness epidemic combined with skyrocketing crime and lenient prosecutors.

But Starbucks isn’t the only outlet facing these challenges. Pharmacy heavyweight Walgreens shuttered multiple locations in 2022, and while they did not specifically blame crime as the reason, it’s clear it played a role.

Now the chain is trying a new method to tackle shoplifting in a Chicago store: namely, not letting customers shop.

Executives at the company made significant changes to prevent thefts that have been on the rise in grocery stores around the United States since last year, per CNN.

Customers will now be unable to shop “for themselves,” save two small isles of “essentials,” according to CWB [Chicago].

The news outlet shared a photo of a digital kiosk, where customers choose items they would like to buy.

A sign in the store reads, “Let us do the shopping.” After choosing your items, you have to stand around waiting until your order’s ready, when you can pick it up at a counter. Sounds fun, if you’re the type of person who enjoys getting their teeth drilled.

Walgreens in Chicago unveils anti-theft store in response to shoplifting

There are only 2 aisles in the entire store

Everything else needs to be ordered at a virtual kiosk pic.twitter.com/ebDwAt8hmf

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 2, 2023

One customer wasn’t happy with the changes.

This is where we are headed. Criminality has infested American culture. Companies are going to do what they can to prevent theft, which includes making it more difficult to steal.

These are only two examples of what’s happening in cities across America, but they perfectly illustrate the decline in the quality of life we’re experiencing under progressive policies.

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