Starbucks Korea to cut opening hours amid virus

A staff member at Starbucks store in Beijing, China, checks the temperature of a customer. / Reuters-Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Amid the growing number of new coronavirus patients here, Starbucks Korea has decided to shorten opening hours at up to 400 stores nationwide.

The global coffee franchise's Korea branch said Sunday it will close a quarter of its stores here an hour earlier starting today. It has not confirmed which stores are subject to the “preventive measure” but said they will be those close to locations where patients with the virus have visited.

“The decision comes as part of our plan to protect customers from the virus while minimizing the inconvenience it can cause. We will operate our stores flexibly according to the situation,” a Starbucks Korea official said.

The coffee chain also said it is reviewing whether to temporarily start serving drinks in paper cups again. To reduce the use of plastic and disposable cups here, Starbucks Korea has been serving drinks in mugs for non-takeaway orders.

“We are monitoring the situation and working closely with local health authorities, taking actions with the health of partners and customers top of mind,” a Starbucks Korea official said. "We have taken a number of temporary measures in order to support our customers and partners. These include reducing operating hours for some stores and providing single-use serve ware upon customer request for their ease of mind."

Starbucks in China has closed down over half of its 4,300 stores including those in Beijing. China is the second largest market for the global coffee chain after the U.S., accounting for 10 percent of total sales worldwide.

McDonald's Korea, on the other hand, said it had no plan to temporarily close any of its outlets in South Korea or shorten business hours.

It has closed nearly 300 in China including all of those in Hubei. McDonald's restaurants in Beijing are still open but the Chinese branch decided to shorten business hours in the capital, while obligating employees to wear face masks.

“No restaurants will close or shorten their business hours due to the new coronavirus here,” a McDonald's Korea official said.

“We created a safety manual after the SARS and MERS outbreaks in the past. Our staff wash their hands up to their forearms for 30 seconds every 30 minutes and they all have to wear face masks,” the official said. “Other than that, we have postponed a monthly event where we open our kitchen to customers at designated restaurants,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Lotte Department Stores temporarily closed its main store in Jung-gu, central Seoul, as of Friday afternoon. This is the first time the department store has shut its doors in response to a public health concern since its opening in 1979.

The decision came after the government's confirmation that the 23rd patient who was diagnosed with the new coronavirus here visited the Jung-gu Lotte Departement Store, Thursday.

The store carried out a disinfection operation over the weekend and will open again today.