SEATTLE — The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Capitol Hill was left vandalized and the glass smashed after employees said pro-Palestinian protestors stormed through. That location is now temporarily closed.
This comes after supporters of the same cause disrupted the downtown Seattle tree-lighting ceremony Friday night.
We spoke with people who were at the roastery when it all happened. They told us they had to exit through the back of the store. Employees told us their doors will be shut for at least a week and they believe it’s because of Friday’s protest.
Residents and visitors made their way to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Pike Street Saturday just to be met with a sign saying it’s temporarily closed.
“We literally just drove this way literally to just get some coffee beans, but we didn’t know it was closed,” said Federal Way resident Karen Gonzalez.
A video shows a crowd of pro-Palestine protesters swarming around the building. They said terms like “Free Gaza” and spray painted the walls, windows, and floors, “Free Palestine” and “Enter if you support genocide” written in chalk.
“It was kind of shocking. I’m surprised that they targeted this location,” said Gonzalez.
On Saturday there were still remnants of the protest. The windows that were shattered and vandalized are now boarded up.
“Any type of vandalism shouldn’t be right, to begin with, but the message must be out there I guess. Some people may not agree with it. Me, myself I’m just advocating for peace,” said Johnny Aguirre who was visiting Seattle.
Like Aguirre, many of the people we spoke with were conflicted. They were shocked to see the damage but also believed it was a way to get the message across.
“I think nobody likes this, what’s going on right now. We should all put this aside and come at peace all together,” said Aguirre.
We’re still working to find out who did this or what group was responsible.
The Starbucks workers’ union has expressed that they stand with Palestine.
We did reach out to Starbucks and got this statement:
The Seattle Roastery has been closed since Friday evening, and we look forward to welcoming customers during our normal business hours today (Sunday 11/26). The safety and well-being of our partners (employees) and customers is our first priority. - Starbucks
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