NOLA Article: "Starbucks Closing Flagship Canal Street Location Due To Security Concerns"

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Starbucks is closing its New Orleans flagship coffee shop on the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, citing concerns over security and the safety of its employees.

The Seattle-based chain said Thursday that the store, which was opened with great fanfare just nine years ago, would close permanently on Oct. 2. It is located on the ground floor of the historic building at 700 Canal Street owned by The Pickwick Club.

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Starbucks spokesman Sam Jefferies said the closure comes as part of a national review the chain announced in July in the form of a letter from its joint heads of operations, Debbie Stroud and Denise Nelsen. They said then that they recognized a rising level of threat their employees felt in some of their outlets and promised to either fix the issues or close them down.

"We said we wanted to work with local leaders and be flexible using different tools to make premises safer, but if that didn't work that we would have to consider closures," Jefferies said. "That is what we have had to do in this instance."

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