D. wrote to ask yesterday: “Any idea why dozens of Starbucks across the city are mysteriously “temporarily closed” today? Seems like only one of the fifty or so below 14th Street (on Lafayette Street) is open. I went out to check at the two closest — Chambers and Murray — and they were both closed. Maybe they had a total system failure?”

Turns out Starbucks closed dozens of locations in Lower Manhattan in the case that riots took over the city, and a disruption in the transit system kept employees from being able to get home. This from Starbucks corporate late last night: “Out of an abundance of caution and in keeping partner (employee) and customer safety top of mind, local leaders have made the decision to close select stores in the Manhattan area due to potential protests happening today. We will resume operations tomorrow.”