As businesses begin to reopen as COVID-19 cases continue to decline, it’s all about finding ways to keep customers safe—especially restaurants. With so many people coming in and out of the buildings to eat and drink, it makes sense that there needs to be some distinct health precautions in place.

Some restaurants are putting up Plexiglas between tables and some places are limiting the capacity of people. But Starbucks—all of their locations—has just become the first national restaurant chain to require all customers to wear masks, beginning next week.

“In our continued effort in prioritizing the health and well-being of partners (employees) and customers, beginning on July 15, we will be requiring customers to wear facial coverings while visiting all company-owned café locations in the US,” Starbucks representative Reggie Borges stated.

You might think that masks are required in most places, but actually they aren’t. Some of the few big stores that have mask policies in place are Costco and Apple.

In some places where masks are required, we’ve seen countless people refuse to do so—even knowing the clear policy. (Seriously, this woman throwing her groceries on the ground after being asked to wear a mask or this woman throwing a childlike tantrum in the middle of Costco never gets old).

However, Starbucks isn’t going to refuse to serve customers who don’t wear a mask, they will simply direct them to the drive-thru or pick-up options if they refuse. Hopefully that reduces the number of outbursts to be had!

To hear the official report from Starbucks on their mask policy, check out the video below.

What’s your opinion on wearing face coverings? What do you think of Starbucks implementing a mandatory mask policy? Have you been wearing a mask in public places, even if it isn’t required?