Starbucks stores may go drive-thru only or limit seating

FILE – In this Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 file photo, a Starbucks barista hands a coffee drink to a customer from a drive-up window at a store near the company’s corporate headquarters in Seattle. On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the company said some of their stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Mar 12, 2020 / 10:27 AM CDT

Updated: Mar 12, 2020 / 01:25 PM CDT

Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside.

The company is making the announcement Thursday, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic.

CEO Kevin Johnson said stores will be closed as a last resort, and those decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The Seattle roaster has approximately 15,000 U.S. stores and 1,600 Canadian stores. Starbucks has already increased the pace of sanitizing stores and put into place a temporary ban on use of personal cups or in-store mugs and glassware.