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Starbucks customers in the United States and Canada will notice some changes when they visit the coffee chain’s locations on Monday.
Condiment bars will return to Starbucks stores, according to the Seattle-based company. At the condiment bars, customers will have the opportunity to “add the finishing touches to [their] drink with the return of cream and milk, as well as a variety of sweeteners,” Starbucks said.
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The company also said that baristas in the United States and Canada will put “all” drinks ordered “for here” into customers’ coffee cups, glasses or “clean personal cup brought from home” from Monday.
People walk past a Starbucks coffee shop in Manhattan on January 15, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via / Getty Images)
Restaurant customers will now be eligible for free refills of hot brewed or iced coffee, or hot or iced tea during the same store visit, according to the company. Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew, Iced Tea Lemonade, Flavored Iced Tea or Refreshments are not eligible for free refills.
The chain has also implemented an updated “Café Code of Conduct.”
| Teleprinter | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBUX | STARBUCKS CORP. | 98.81 | +0.82 | +0.84% |
“Our code of conduct for cafes is something that most retailers have and is designed to make clear that our spaces – including our cafes, terraces and toilets – are intended for use by customers and partners,” a the company said.
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The code of conduct also prohibits discrimination, violence, outdoor drinking, smoking, drug use and begging, among other things, on its sites.
Starbucks Coffee signage in Warsaw, Poland on July 31, 2024. (Alexandre Kalka/NurPhoto via /Getty Images)
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in late October that the chain would reimplement condiment bars in stores and begin using cups for people drinking their drinks in-store.
At the time, he also detailed other changes the company was looking to make, including “reducing our overly complex menu to align with our core identity as a coffee company,” “taking steps to better separate the removal of mobile orders from the coffee experience” and bring back the practice of baristas using Sharpie markers.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in late October that baristas would bring back the practice of using Sharpie markers. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via /Getty Images)
In early November, Starbucks dropped fees for customers who substitute plant-based milk in their drinks at company-owned and operated locations in the United States and Canada.
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“It’s clear that we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers and return to growth. Coming back to Starbucks is that fundamental change,” Niccol said in October. “We need to return to what has always set Starbucks apart, a welcoming coffee shop where people come together and where we serve the best coffee, hand-prepared by our skilled baristas.”
