How bad is crime at the Starbucks closing on the Plaza? Here’s what KCPD data shows
Update: Kansas City Police Department records show seven calls for service at the Starbucks location on the Country Club Plaza in the three months before it closed. That story is posted here.
Workers at the Starbucks on the Country Club Plaza said they were told the store’s abrupt closing Monday was because of security and safety problems.
And on Tuesday, a company spokesperson added to that claim, though she said she was not able to point to any specific incidents.
“The store has experienced some safety issues due to crime in the area,” the company spokeswoman said. “But clearly there are issues that have been brought to the attention of our leadership.”
While protesting at the Plaza Starbucks, 302 Nichols Road, some of the store employees expressed skepticism, saying they thought the closure of the store was more likely a response to their attempts to form a union. While there have been some safety concerns, workers said, those have existed for years without the company responding.
“We’ve been asking about meetings about safety and security,” said employee Josh Crowell, who is part of the organizing committee for the Starbucks store’s union. “Let’s come up with solutions as the workers, as the people in the store who would know best what needs to be safe. Rather than doing that, Starbucks decided to cut us out altogether.”
The disagreement raised a question: How much crime has been reported around the Starbucks on the Plaza?
To find out how many crimes have been reported in the area, Kansas City police referred to an online map linked on the department’s website.
The map showed that from June 1 to Aug. 22, there were no crimes reported at the Starbucks location. There were, however, numerous thefts and assaults reported around the Plaza.
On June 18, for example, Kansas City police responded to a shooting at the intersection of Nichols Road and Central Street. A man driving past at the time said he and his wife were caught in the middle of what he described as a shoot-out. They were not injured, but police said one person was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
From June 1 to Aug. 22, there were nine incidents of shoplifting reported in the 200 block of Nichols Road, according to the map.
Earlier this month, there was an exchange of gunfire in the parking garage adjacent to the Starbucks, according to police.
Officers were in the area of 47th and Wyandotte Street when they heard “a large amount” shots being fired coming from the southwest about 9 p.m. on Aug. 14, said Capt. Leslie Foreman, a KCPD spokesperson.
Officers did not find any victims or active threats. Based on information police gathered, it appeared that people had fired shots at each other and after the gunfire ceased, they all fled, she said.
One business in the area had property damage from the gunfire.
Addy Wright, a supervisor for three years at the Plaza store, said Tuesday that she had been stalked and followed and that other female workers had been sexually harassed.
But some employees on Tuesday said the safety and security issues that they faced were typical of what retail workers face no matter where they work.
Plaza officials declined to comment on safety problems, referring questions to Starbucks and Kansas City police.
None of the employees who spoke to The Star Tuesday felt so unsafe that they didn’t want to work at the Plaza store.
“I would argue that retail workers all across America are unsafe,” Crowell said.
“There are more guns in America than there are people. Kansas City has a violence problems, generally speaking, and that’s part of what we’re saying in this moment. Closing the store doesn’t make anyone safer.”
Star reporter Joyce Smith and Anna Spoerre contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 4:27 PM.
