Starbucks store in Philly is a haven for a once homeless man

"Here I'm part of the establishment -- like Norm in Cheers," 58-year-old Dennis Jones (left) says of the Broad and Pine Starbucks he frequents, up to 14 hours a day. He has earned gold-card customer status for downing up to 50 cups of Pike Place Roast a week. "This month, Jones' star shines even brighter: He's headlining a one-man art show on the walls of the coffee shop that saved him," writes Monica Yant Kinney.

At night, Jones helps baristas stack chairs and take out the trash. "He takes care of my girls," says store manager Carla Gomez. "Anytime we have an unruly customer, Dennis is right there." Does your store have a Dennis Jones-type?
> Read "Coffee shop is a haven for a once homeless man"

Comments

[short drip]

I wish was Dennis was my homeless man. I have had a few. Some slept and unrinated on the furniture. Many smelled very bad. I always asked them politely to "please move on to your next location". It is not good for business and Sbux is not a philanthropic respite for the homeless. It is a 3rd place for customers.
I doubt there are too many great stories like this one. I wish him nothing but the best.

[Jeff Tom]

Great story! But, for places like this, for every "Dennis" there are 10+ more anti-Dennis.

[Jeff Tom]

I live in the Central District area of Seattle, and my home Starbucks is the one on 23rd/Jackson. This is in an area with a very high percentage of African Americans and Blacks from many other countries (predominantly Ethiopia). A lot of elder Black people make this location a multi-hour (and by this I mean 4+) hangout EVERY DAY.

One of the nicest community locations I have seen, and it is cool hearing all teh different languages and dialects. This is a pretty high traffic store, but it has got to be frustrating with the limited turnover of persons throughout the day that suck up tables and chairs. And to make it relevant to the story, a lot of homeless people drift through to "take" sugar, honey and creamer from the bar and to use the facilities.

unfortuately for this store, there arae no Dennis among that last group.

[Stan]

no my homeless... are normal run of the mill crazy homeless. and then i have the crazy that are charged to the state as well.

it's awesome.

[drive]

Why doesn't Starbucks employ Dennis for a few hours a day? He seems to be doing work there, like stacking the chairs and taking out the trash, and Starbucks is receiving free labor. He could also spend a few hours a week doing customized signage for all of the Philly stores.

[DC]

Before working at Sbux, I used to feel bad for homeless. After working at a downtown urban store, it kind of saddens me how little empathy I have for the homeless now. While I know most of them don't "want" to be disruptive and have medical/psychological issues, having to call the cops yet again less then a week ago due to a homeless person freaking out in the store has furthur numbed my sympathy for their plight.

[Waltie]

There's a quote from the manager and that's it. I wonder if all the other partners just wish he would go away. If all the partners liked him, wouldn't there be one quote from one of the people who has to interact with him on a daily basis?

I'm sure he's a nice guy and this sounds like a cute story... but I dunno. If somebody was in my store 12 hours a day and kept offering to help out with my tasks, I'd get really annoyed really quick.

[Streakn_it]

Ok so the super big announcement that is going down is about whole bean coffee and how the categories are going to change. Starbucks is going to offer three different categories - "blonde", mild and dark roasts. Their will now be 2 new coffees offered that are milder than breakfast blend. I believe the new category system and new coffee offerings are going to start late this year with an official launch in January 2012!

[Blondi]

My homeless person buys a pastry and coffee and plays on her laptop for 6 hours. She smells rancid.

[datedotit]

My homeless people masturbate in the lobby, and take dumps in the middle of the bathroom floor - and they smell like a truckstop urinal.

[brian]

why in the world if u spend 14 hours a day at starbucks would you not try to get at least some kind of job with starbucks. of course if youre going to do work for them for free i guess i can see what starbucks wouldnt hire you if youre 'working' for them anyway.

i used to work as a cashier at hardees and it wasnt an area with homeless people, but what i found is that there are a few older/middle-aged losers who go to hardees everyday and 'befriend' the employees because the employees cant exactly leave or tell the people to go away. these people get their human interaction & routine from going to a hardees every single day. pretty pathetic. this same thing happens at casinos because u can sit at a blackjack table and talk to the dealer and they arent leaving either. i used to go to the casino a few times per week in grad school and there were the same old people there everyday, and a few like 40 year old guys who didnt really gamble they just talked to their 'friends' ie the casino workers.

[Seogene]

In this economy, there are so many people that have lost everything that they have worked hard for, forcing them into homelessne­ss. Unfortunat­ely, the stereotype of the mentally impaired, drug-pheen­ing homeless deteriorat­es any notion that some homeless are not drug-addic­ts or suffer from schizophre­nia. In fact, many are normal, contributi­ng members of society and, unfortunat­ely, society has turned their backs on them. Rev MacInnes is trying to get society to lend a helping hand so that those who have hit rock bottom due to uncontroll­able circumstan­ces can get back up on their feet. Like Rev says, "Small things do great things." Sometimes, it really is just a small thing that someone can do to help another person in need regain control of their lives. Little things like re-filling a Starbucks card or giving someone a pair of glasses facilitate­s job searches and the ability to work and apply for no credit check loans if one needs it. Rev is doing great things and I cannot wait to be a part of his future projects!