They’re outside in the early morning, sipping coffee and sharing cigarettes. They’re inside in the afternoon, tapping at laptops and nursing lattes. They send emails and organize protests, chat with friends and warm their hands. It’s been two months now, and no one shows any signs of leaving. It’s undisputed and undeniable: The Starbucks at 15th and K has been thoroughly Occupied. Almost since Occupy DC’s inception in early October, the coffee chain — one of two on opposite corners of McPherson Square — has been inundated with Occupiers looking for a bathroom break, solace from the cold or a place to check email. Regulars estimate anywhere from 50 to 150 occupiers pass through its doors each day. For occupiers, this is the place to be — a second home away from the cold and the mud in McPherson Square.
On a recent visit to the coffee shop it was hard to find anyone who complained — virtually everyone in Starbucks was an Occupier. Starbucks workers won’t comment on the unexpected influx, and the corporate coffee giant didn’t return calls for comment by press time Monday.
But some nonprotesters did find it hypocritical for the protesters to congregate there.
Erin Addison, visiting from Orlando, Fla., said, “It is kind of against what they are all about,” she said. “They are against big corporations, and here they are meeting in one of the biggest ones.”
Protesters say they enjoy the warmth, the free WiFi and the sense of camaraderie they feel inside the Starbucks. But some have expressed qualms about setting up shop in a cafe run by the largest coffeehouse company in the world. The Starbucks ethos, they say, doesn’t exactly mesh with Occupy’s anti-corporate-greed agenda.
“It’s definitely a hub that we use to keep in contact with people,” said protester Peter Goodin. “I don’t like the idea that we’re using a corporate company, but you gotta use what you have.”
Employees do try to police protesters. On Monday afternoon, an employee informed a gaggle of Occupiers lounging at chairs near the bathroom that they had to purchase something or leave. A few sighed and walked out, though most stayed. Some Occupiers say they try to buy at least one item a day to stay in the baristas’ good graces; others volunteer to clean bathrooms. Patrons and Occupiers regularly wait in line for 15 minutes or more for the restrooms.
“Everyone seems to come here,” laughed Melissa Neild, who works in a building next door to the coffee shop. “Personally it doesn’t bother me, but if I was the business owner it would.”
Protester Anthony Sluder, ensconced in a chair by the window on Monday afternoon, said a manager has asked him to make sure Occupiers clean up after themselves, but he said protesters generally enjoy a good relationship with Starbucks employees.
“Sometimes it does create a problem,” said protester Brandon Eades, who was sorting cards from a fantasy role-playing game outside. “They don’t want you to hang out there unless you’re a purchasing customer.”
