Crime is costing Central Square its Starbucks
Central Square’s Starbucks coffee shop closes Nov. 13. (Photo: Marc Levy)
The Starbucks coffee shop in Central Square closes Nov. 13, with crime in the area identified by counter staff and a corporate spokesperson as a major factor in the decision.
The shop opened at 655 Massachusetts Ave. on Dec. 2, 1997, staying through previous ups and downs in the economy and trends in crime – but after 25 years the Seattle-based coffee chain said the location no longer made sense for it.
“We want to make sure the store is thriving and our partners feel supported.When necessary, we will make the decision to close a store,” a Starbucks spokesperson said Friday. “Really, our first priority is to make sure our partners are safe at work.”
Even with the closing, Central won’t lack for coffee. The location at the Prospect Street intersection is flanked by a 1369 Coffee House and Caffe Nero, both within two blocks, and Andala Coffee House remains open and busy two blocks down River Street while closing even later – at 11 p.m. to Starbucks’ 8 p.m.
While the Starbucks spokesperson couldn’t say when the decision was made to close the location, a worker at the location said they were told Thursday. Workers there will be given the chance to relocate to another location, the spokesperson said, noting that a store in Harvard Square is about to open in the new Abbot building after an 11-month absence.
Harvard Square once had three Starbucks and will soon have one, and the chain has been adapting to changes in customer habits by opening smaller stores that acknowledges individual traffic is down even as group ordering stays strong – in fact, at last month’s Investor Day event in Seattle, company executives said 2,000 more Starbucks would open nationwide by 2025, up from the current 6,536. But the closing in Central wasn’t financial, so far as the spokesperson knew. (Traffic figures aren’t broken out by store for media, and a worker at the 655 Massachusetts Ave. location declined to estimate.)
The decision to close was a surprise to Cambridge police.
“We just had a Coffee with a Cop event with them last week and we weren’t informed of this, nor of concerns regarding crime within or outside the business,” said Jeremy Warnick, director of communications and media relations for the department.
That crime is a problem in Central Square compared with the rest of the city is clear. Warnick pointed to figures and graphics in the September Bridgestat report showing violence- or property-based incidents highest there. “The trend observed during Covid of a high percentage of aggravated assaults occurring in Central Square and peripheral side streets has continued in 2022, with 67 of the 180 citywide reports occurring in this area” to date, according to the report. Forty-one of 67 street robberies recorded through Oct. 3 were in Central as well, and 47 out of 89 thefts, not to mention 88 of 332 bike thefts. Other crime heat maps show spikes in Central as well.
The Central Square Starbucks worker thought there were “many contributing factors” to the closing but mentioned crime specifically. “Obviously, it’s a great place to have a coffee shop,” the worker said. “But for the foreseeable future, we will no longer be here.”
The Starbucks spokesperson added that “societal safety issues affect all retailers.”
“That’s why we have protocols and resources in place, to make sure partners and customers are out of harm’s way,” the spokesperson said. “And like I said, sometimes we will make a decision to close the store.”
Another opportunity to reach out to the public safety chair and ask a few questions? To date we’ve lost both a Dunkin’ Donuts and now Starbucks that at the very least should warrant a discussion.
Oh darn….no more over-priced, bitter coffee. And yeah too bad about Starbucks as well.
But not really. Make your coffee at home, reduce waste and save money.
I mean if we are literally re-engineering our streets, how about also radical change in our disposable consumer society?
Not much of a loss to the city at all. There are so many local options with much better coffee.
The real issue is not Starbucks, or communications, or our collective access to coffee. It is whether we have a crime problem significant enough to close a store. It’s too bad that we don’t have specific comments from Starbucks or the Police Department corroborating or challenging this central assertion.
That is correct PeterG. This was the same reason that Dunkin closed and why seven eleven is also looking to close. If you can’t run a business because crime goes unchecked then it is irrelevant who operator is.
LOL….y’all want “Community Engagement Representatives” until stuff really starts going sideways again and then it is “where’s the police”?
Central has alway been a magnet because it is the ONLY location within miles that offers support and services to those in need.
Unfortunately, lately “those in need” has sky-rocketed.
Ain’t nothing here Central or Cambridge can fix because it is a state and national problem that we are only at the beginning of.
Crime in Central Square.. They created a branch office of the Police department there – although I’ve never seen it open. Many years ago they had booth in the square often with a cop in it. Wouldn’t that be a better idea?
Oh, no, no more high priced coffee? I agree with
Sam M. Make your own.
Starbucks. Buh-Bye.
To those of happy that Starbucks is closing are simply missing the bigger problem. Central square is turning into Stenchual Square. There are homeless people, drunk people, and needles on the street. You can read the residential crime and robberys stats above.
If your only defense is – how great, bye-bye to overpriced corporate chain – let’s save the world by brewing our own ethically sourced coffee in bio-degradable cups while we drive our teslas – you are so so far removed from reality. Yesterday it was Dunkin, today is Starbucks, and tomorrow it will be another. Just go walk around downtown San Fran and see how many shops are left.
Crime is a real problem. Sam Noubert’s comment
about “Community Engagement Representatives”is spot on.
And the city still doesn’t want to have CCTV cameras. What unfortunate horrendous accident will it take before the city realizes the need for CCTV. If cities such as London can do it, so can Cambridge.
Very distressing news about crime chasing out businesses in Central Square. I used to take dance classes there, see dance performances, join yoga classes, shop at CVS and art stores, go to my bank, dine in restaurants, go to the theater, and attend city council meetings at City Hall. Now after living in Cambridge for over 22 years it is not safe to go there?
Unacceptable. The City of Cambridge must turn this around.
This should come as no surprise to anyone living in the area. Someone who I know works in one of the buildings right in the middle of central square sees drug deals all the time during the day.
Even since the toilet was installed for public use junkies use it to shoot up after their purchase right next to the toilet.
Call the police you say? Done. By the time the police arrive the pusher and the junkies have left. Or the police come but say if they don’t see any crime there is nothing they can do. I suppose more police walking in the square might help but I doubt it.
Get rid of the toilet.
I hope our City Manager steps in. To date we’ve (The BID) have picked up over 21,000 syringes which is up from last years total of 16,000+. The police are demoralized without any council support and super citizens pulling out their cameras every time there is an interaction. There just seems to be an unwillingness to do anything. Since August we’ve had multiple stabbings, two muggings, and two shooting incidents on top of a ton of violent interactions that go unreported. Hell Councilor McGovern was punched in the face during an interview with a local new outlet in Central. We need leadership now more than ever. [Editor’s note: Video of the event does not show that councillor Marc McGovern was punched in the face, and McGovern agrees that during a March 29 interview with WBZ-TV in Central Square he “blocked” a blow by an unhoused person.]
Funny how this “crime” Starbucks is whining about isn’t stopping 1369, Caffe Nero, or Andala. I still remember when it was part of the 1990s of rent control demise. Can’t remember the name of the 1990s independent coffee joints directly across Prospect Street that Starbucks put out of business…the Liberty Cafe? Phoenix Cafe?