'COVID-19 Spread' Starbucks Followed by Coffee Bean Shortened Store Hours... Daegu Stores Closed

Coffee Bean Contributes to Preventing COVID-19 Spread: "Employee and Customer Safety is Top Priority"
Starbucks Operates Flexible Hours... Will Do Its Best for Employee and Customer Safety

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), coffee shop stores are increasingly shortening their business hours.

According to the related industry on the 28th, Coffee Bean Korea recently began shortening store hours to ensure the safety of employees as COVID-19 cases rapidly increased. Coffee Bean operates about 300 stores nationwide. Although it varies slightly by store, most operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Currently, operating hours have been reduced by 1 to up to 3 hours at about 140 stores in Seoul and about 20 stores in the Yeong and Honam regions. Stores located in office districts have shortened evening hours, while stores in tourist areas have delayed opening times. Two stores operating in Daegu have temporarily closed.

A Coffee Bean Korea representative explained, "As COVID-19 spreads, we judged that employee and customer safety is the top priority, so we implemented shortened business hours. Since all stores are directly managed, flexible store operation is possible." The timing for normalizing store operations is unclear. They plan to adjust based on the situation, including the speed of COVID-19 spread.

Earlier, Starbucks Coffee Korea also began shortening business hours by an average of one hour at about 300 to 400 stores nationwide starting from the 10th. Most Starbucks stores nationwide operate from 7 a.m. to around 10 to 11 p.m. Starbucks is implementing flexible shortened hours by either delaying opening times or advancing closing times depending on each store.

The targeted stores are those near locations visited by confirmed COVID-19 cases or places with high foot traffic where there is a risk of COVID-19 spread. Currently, customers are being notified of shortened business hours through individual store announcements.

A Starbucks representative said, "This change in business hours is part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that employees and customers remain safe from COVID-19."