Starbucks says it closed Plaza store for safety. Here’s the record of KCPD calls there

Seven police calls were made to the Starbucks on the Country Club Plaza in the three months before the store was abruptly closed Monday.

The reasons for the calls varied from armed assault to a recovered stolen vehicle and an administrative call.

But none of the calls resulted in officers creating a police report, according to the Kansas City Police Department.

The question of how much crime goes on around the Starbucks location at 302 Nichols Road was raised by the coffee chain Monday, when they gave safety as the reason for the sudden closure, employees at the store said.

The workers picketing Tuesday said they were doubtful of the company’s motives and suggested the shuttering of the location was a case of union-busting. The workers had held a union vote recently, before they were given a few minutes notice that the store was closing permanently Monday afternoon.

Several said they didn’t think the location is any more unsafe than other coffee shops or retail stores.

Kansas City police said they did not take reports on any criminal offenses at the Starbucks between May 22 and Aug. 22, according to department records.

Of the seven times police were called without taking a report, the reasons given included a reported assault with a weapon, an informational call, a call about community activity and a call for an ambulance, according to police records.

Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman with the department, said the calls may not have resulted in an incident report if the situation was de-escalated or the person left before police arrived, among other reasons.

In the same time frame last year, the department received double the amount of calls, Foreman said.

Other incidents have been reported within a block of the store, according to an online map on the Kansas City police website.

On June 18, for example, Kansas City police responded to a shooting at the intersection of Nichols Road and Central Street. A man driving past at the time said he and his wife were caught in the middle of what he described as a shoot-out. They were not injured, but police said one person was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

From June 1 to Aug. 22, there were nine incidents of shoplifting reported in the 200 block of Nichols Road, according to the map.

Earlier this month, there was an exchange of gunfire in the parking garage adjacent to the Starbucks, according to police. No injuries were reported.

Last month, Starbucks closed 16 other locations in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., also citing safety concerns.

Workers made similar claims that the closures were meant to break up unionizing efforts. At least two of the stores in Seattle were newly unionized at the time of the closings in July.

Starbucks worker, corporate perspectives

Workers at the Plaza store said safety concerns have existed for years without any response from corporate.

“We’ve been asking about meetings, about safety and security,” said Josh Crowell, who was part of the organizing committee to form the union. “Let’s come up with solutions as the workers, as the people in the store who would know best what needs to be safe. Rather than doing that, Starbucks decided to cut us out altogether.”

Crowell and other employees who protested outside of the Starbucks Tuesday said they believe the company closed the store to discourage other locations from unionizing. He said he has worked for Starbucks for four years, including about a year at the Plaza location, and he doesn’t believe workers will be any safer at other store locations.

“I think they’re just using it as cover,” he said, adding that the company is trying to have good public relations by saying they’re keeping workers safe. “But at the end of the day, us workers now we’re, you know, out here protesting because we lost our jobs.”

Addy Wright, a supervisor at the store, said female employees have been sexually harassed and she had been stalked. Some employees said the issues they faced are the same ones retail workers deal with no matter where they work.

Employees were told they’ll be paid through Thursday, and managers will reach out about possible reassignments and future options, leaving some workers worried about the future.

“I’m still processing,” said Kaity Barnes, a barista at the Plaza location for almost a year. “I can’t not have a job. I have bills to pay.”

A Starbucks company spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the chain regularly opens and closes stores as a standard part of its business operations.

“We apply the same focus on safety at unionized and non-union stores and are closing non-union stores where we are similarly challenged in providing a safe environment for our customer and partner experience,” the spokesperson said.

A Starbucks spokesperson, who declined to be named, added:

“The store has experienced some safety issues due to crime in the area. I don’t have the particulars at this moment, But clearly there are issues that have been brought to the attention of our leadership.”

The Star’s Joyce Smith and Anna Spoerre contributed.