As the Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to impact restaurants everywhere, you might find that your favorite Starbucks iced latte might take longer than expected at your next visit.
The Seattle-founded coffee chain announced with USA Today on January 15th that various locations are experiencing staffing issues and cutting back on operations. Notably, the hours of your local Starbucks might change due to this, as well as the availability of certain products. Mobile ordering and mobile paying functions may also halt temporarily for the time being.
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“As we have since the beginning of the pandemic, local leaders can, and do scale operations based on partner availability and local COVID-19 factors,” a spokesperson said to USA Today.
“These decisions are made on a store-by-store and market-by-market basis.” The publication writes that Starbucks suggests “checking out its app” to find the latest product availability before placing an order. The app and its website will also reportedly show each store’s current operating hours as they are updated.
An email to Starbucks customers, dated January 14th reads, “You have our commitment to make the situation right.” It adds, “we will always make proactive decisions that prioritize the health and well-being of our customers and our partners.”
In the meantime, the company also noted that they will postpone reward members’ star expirations through April 1st as it works to “quickly” resolve the disruptions “in these trying times.”
