A Starbucks Coffee storefront is shown on a brick building.
PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia developer says Starbucks reneged on a promise to build a community store that would’ve helped energize a North Philadelphia area.
Starbucks pledged a $100 million Community Resilience Fund following backlash from a 2018 incident in which an employee called police on two Black men who were sitting at a table and hadn’t ordered yet while waiting on a business associate. Philadelphia, where the arrest occurred, was one of 12 cities targeted for investment, a lawsuit filed in April and recently removed to federal court says.
Plans were made for a community store on North Broad St. and West Lehigh Ave., with Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp. partnering with Starbucks. The Starbucks was supposed to be “an anchor and stabilizer” in the area that would “catalyze” further investment for that community, the suit says.
“Starbucks did not keep its promises,” the suit says. “In fact, Starbucks delayed obtaining its building permits – its responsibility under the lease – and then used those delays as a pretext to terminate.”
By Nov. 15, 2025, Starbucks declared it could not receive government approvals on satisfactory terms. PSDC says it had invested millions in demolishing existing structures, performing construction work and coordinating with nonprofits. It had even given Starbucks a discount on the lease, as one economist estimated the investment would generate $4.4 billion in total economic stimulus and create nearly 13,000 jobs.
Starbucks’ decision to terminate the lease was wrong, PSDC says, for four reasons: The feasibility period during which it could call the project off had expired years earlier, Starbucks caused its own delays and acted in bad faith and records contradict its stance that it was unable to obtain the commercial building permit.
PSDC seeks compensation for the money it spent on the abandoned project, plus punitive damages. Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment.
