A State College area Starbucks became the latest of the coffee chain’s stores nationwide to temporarily close after being vandalized.
The Starbucks at 2030 N. Atherton St. was closed on Tuesday after someone smashed its glass front door and spray painted graffiti on the side of the building.
The front door of the store was boarded on Tuesday afternoon, and a surveillance camera image obtained by StateCollege.com showed ‘Free’ spray painted on the building before going out of frame. A person who observed the graffiti before it was cleaned told StateCollege.com it read “Free Palestine.” Another image of someone cleaning the graffiti during the day on Tuesday showed “Free Pales” in spray paint still visible before it was fully removed from the side of the building.
An employee said the store is expected to reopen on Wednesday but deferred further questions to Starbucks corporate media relations, which did not yet return a request for comment.
Patton Township Police Chief Tyler Jolley wrote in an email that the department is investigating a report of criminal mischief at the store but that he could not comment further. He added that he expects to release further information in the coming days.
Surveillance camera images viewed by StateCollege.com showed a figure approaching the store from behind at 11:16 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a time stamp, then standing near the graffiti.
At left, an image from a nearby surveillance camera shows a person approaching the Starbucks building. At right, “Free” can be seen spray painted on the side of the building.
Several Starbucks locations, including stores in Washington, California, North Carolina, Texas and Massachusetts, have seen similar vandalism after calls for a boycott of the company related to the Israel-Hamas war. Starbucks sued Workers United, the union organizing its employees, for using the company’s name and a similar logo in pro-Palestinian social media posts, which Starbucks says led to more than 1,000 complaints damaged its reputation.
Workers United filed its own suit asking a federal court to rule that it could continue using the name and logo, and accusing Starbucks of defaming the union, according to the Associated Press.
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