The lobby of Starbucks on Northwest 13th Street in Gainesville is closed on weekday afternoons after local high schoolers fought outside the store.
The change stems from an Aug. 27 incident when at least four students were involved in a physical altercation that sent three female students to UF Health Shands Pediatrics Hospital. In the days afterward, Starbucks closed the lobby from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Only drive-thru service is available at the location during those 90 minutes until further notice, the company said.
Gainesville High School, located at 1900 NW 13th St., is less than a five-minute walk from Starbucks. When the dismissal bell rang at 2:42 p.m., upwards of 50 students had flocked to the café for the remainder of their afternoons. The pattern is not new.
“They hold the business hostage,” said Sgt. Tristan Grunder, one of the Gainesville Police Department officers who monitors the area. “This is what we thought was the best option. Let’s just close down the patio. Let’s just close down the inside. Let’s give the kids time to find other, more productive things to do.”
Details of what happened on the afternoon last month emerged in part through the public release of two 911 calls.
Two store employees made the first call; a bystander hoping to get additional help for the school resource officer made the second call.
According to a police incident report, kids were fighting in front of the store around 4:24 p.m. At least one person was punched, and another was pepper-sprayed. Seven Gainesville police units arrived at the scene.
“We had a couple of people exposed to pepper spray,” Grunder said in an interview. “(GPD officers) wanted them to be checked out and have their eyes flushed.”
Emmalee Murray, a 15-year-old Gainesville High School sophomore, was walking outside the Starbucks when the altercation began.
“I just saw a bunch of people fighting, dragging each other on the ground and pulling out hair,” Murray said in a recent interview with WUFT.
The influx of Gainesville High School students didn’t escalate until the 2023-24 school year. Prior to that, students who arrived at the Starbucks typically came to hang out or wait for their parents after school or clubs let out.
However, as the number of students spending time at Starbucks increased, their respect for the store fell. Students began reapplying makeup or fixing their hair together in single-use bathrooms. Grunder says some drug use was apparent, too, which led to padlocks on the bathroom doors.
The students didn’t cause significant issues until they began fighting.
“You get about 200 people in a combined area,” Grunder said. “People bump into each other, and the next thing you know, people are fighting.”
While physical altercations comprised the bulk of the incidents during the past year, the store and its employees also dealt with frequent drug use and rare instances of weapons on the property.
A December 2023 incident report shows two firearms were located at 1614 NW 13th St., the store’s address. One was in the possession of a minor.
“There was a gun pulled here,” said a Gainesville High School student who asked to remain anonymous due to fear for his personal safety and possible retaliation.
The student said he heard a high schooler during another incident in a lot near the 13th Street Starbucks threaten to pull out a gun.
“I watched the whole thing,” he said. “I left when it got too dangerous.”
The Starbucks location continued to operate during normal hours for the first two weeks of the school year on Aug. 12.
But between that date and the Aug. 27 incident, at least four fights broke out at this Starbucks, according to Grunder. It wasn’t until later in the month that the store decided to close its doors during the after-school window.
Paul Campbell, 76, is a frequent customer at Starbucks. As he walks into the store around 2 p.m. to order his drink, an employee reminds him that the store lobby will be closing soon.
“Apparently it’s a corporate decision,” Campbell said. “They’re not making this an easy place for people to hang out. They don’t spend any money.”
Campbell said the Starbucks employees were apologetic about the situation and allowed him to order a drink to go.
All current store employees declined to comment on the situation. The location’s district manager did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite the lobby closure, Gainesville High School students are still arriving at the Starbucks to socialize or get picked up by their parents. For parents unable to get their kids, some students will wait outside until the lobby reopens.
Whitney Kinsell, 15, a sophomore at Gainesville High School, was a frequent Starbucks customer after school.
“Why would you fight here out of all places?” Kinsell said. “I was annoyed. You’re going to get us all kicked out. And they did.”
