OPINION | Starbucks Failed Rainier Beach. There's Still Time to Make It Right.

Dear Starbucks,

I'm Sara McNally, a wife, a mom, an artist, and a proud Rainier Beach resident. I'm also a Master of Fine Arts candidate in arts leadership at Seattle University. In my recent studies, I was directed to the Starbucks mission statement:

"To be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world, inspiring and nurturing the human spirit — one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time."*

It was offered as a great example of mission statement authorship. But the textbook missed the large asterisk at the end of it.

In action, the Starbucks mission to nurture the human spirit does not apply to Rainier Beach.

When you were preparing to open the new drive-through location at 9150 Rainier Ave. S. in the fall of 2025, our neighborhood paper, the South Seattle Emerald, noted, "The new South End location is one of two new stores opening in Seattle this year. The expansion comes after Starbucks closed five stores citywide [in 2022] due to 'crime concerns.'"

I can't imagine that you, the smart people at our hometown coffee giant's corporate office, were unaware of the Starbucks within the Safeway just steps away. You must also have been briefed on the challenges of the location you'd chosen. In 2020, two people were shot and killed in the adjacent parking lot. In 2023, five people were shot and injured there. A man was shot in the same location in March 2025, just six months before the new Starbucks opened.

When asked about the Rainier Beach location opening, a spokesperson told the Emerald, "Starbucks is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers."

But do you know your customers? All of them? Or just the ones north of Beacon Hill? You didn't choose to add community value to Rainier Beach by building a location with a gathering spot to create a new third place. You chose to build a cash-grab drive-through. You didn't consider the complexity of this location that had been empty and has attracted nonsense for a long time.

And in September 2026, less than a year after opening, you chose to shut the doors. You put trash bags over the letters of the sign, and you made your lack of foresight our problem.

In the letter Mike Grams, your chief operating officer, sent about closing this location (among others), he said, "This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse. While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you."

Was the Rainier Beach Starbucks "underperforming"? Or did you just choose a location in a neighborhood where people are experiencing poverty, homelessness, the ongoing trauma of gun violence, and ICE abductions in broad daylight at the Safeway parking lot next door?

What Rainier Beach needs is ethical, community-minded businesses who are informed on the challenges we face and give a damn about the people they serve. Rainier Beach doesn't need a $7 Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Now here's the part where I call you to action: Instead of leaving the empty building to create more chaos for our neighborhood, I urge you to part with the property quickly. Perhaps you could sell the building as is to an indie coffee company that would be open to community job training, like teaching the youth how to pull espresso shots. Even just covering the outdoor bar area so it's usable throughout the year for a gathering space would go a long way.

I'm thinking big here, but donating the land and building to a nonprofit organization like the Rainier Beach Action Coalition, FAST (Fathers and Sons Together), or Community Passageways would ensure that the legacy of Starbucks in this community isn't one of irresponsibility and blight, but of enrichment.

We all make mistakes. I often spill my coffee. But this mistake doesn't have to keep doing damage. I invite you to come to Rainier Beach, meet the people who live here and are doing good work in our community, and move forward with a new plan for this building.

There is still time to make this right.

The South Seattle Emerald is committed to holding space for a variety of viewpoints within our community, with the understanding that differing perspectives do not negate mutual respect amongst community members.

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.

Sara McNally is a wife, mother, artist, and Master of Fine Arts candidate at Seattle University who lives in Rainier Beach.