Starbucks dining area near Brockton High, closed weekday afternoons.

BROCKTON — Throughout the last school year, groups of Brockton High School students caused chaos and damage at many nearby businesses across Belmont Street, according to several store managers. Before, during and after school hours, shops and restaurants in the area struggled to maintain order.

A new Starbucks has now opened on Belmont Street, within sight of the huge Brockton High building, where around 3,700 students study.

“In the past, we have had some issues with some local businesses that were across the street or near the high school,” Brockton police Lt. Paul Bonanca said at a school board meeting on Aug. 6.

Bonanca said he met with managers of the new Starbucks and initially said at the Aug. 6 meeting that the store would be closed daily from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Starbucks’ press office clarified Wednesday that the dining room will only be closed during the school week, but said it will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., not 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. when BHS students are off school, and does not include the weekend. The drive-thru will remain open and people can still go into the store to order food, but cannot stay in the store.

“When kids do gather, it seems to be more of a concentrated area in the areas closest to the high school,” Bonanca said.

Mayor seeks ‘common solution’ to keep Starbucks fully open

Mayor Robert Sullivan said in a written statement Wednesday afternoon that he was not informed that the new Starbucks store on Belmont Street planned to close the interior store area during those hours of the school week.

“For this reason, I will be requesting a meeting with management and Brockton Police Chief Brenda Perez to further discuss this decision. This wonderful new commercial addition in a busy part of our city should be fully open during all business hours every day,” the mayor said.

“I am confident that together we will find a solution to support this retailer and ensure the safety of workers and customers.”

Broken vending machine, smoking cannabis Groups of Brockton students can charge restaurants

Improvement after companies started kicking out students?

Now that summer vacation is here, the store manager said the chaos has calmed down. But toward the end of last school year, some stores took their own measures to prevent students from causing trouble.

“It seems like it’s getting better,” Madison Fleming, manager of the Taco Bell next to the new Starbucks, said Tuesday, Aug. 13. “I think they really just need guidance, that’s really the only thing.”

Fleming said she has heard BHS students yelling and arguing at her Taco Bell store and has seen “little fights here and there.” She added that sometimes they treat the building “like a playground.” Now, Fleming said, they kick students out if they don’t buy anything.

“They’re not like they used to be,” she said. “I feel like they just didn’t want to be kicked out anymore.”

Assistant manager Daniela Lopes said there have been a number of high school students coming into the store and destroying the restrooms. The last time that happened was last fall at the start of the school year. One time, Brockton students broke one of their vending machines.

“We just tell them they can buy the food, but they can’t stay here,” Lopes said. “We literally tell them, ‘You can’t stay here.'”

Lopes said that since staff started kicking the children out, there have not been as many problems. While the problems usually occurred during lunchtime, some students were returning as early as 6 a.m.

“Some children don’t even go to school, they just come here in the morning,” she said.

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Security risks, police on guard

As early as November 2023, Brockton High School staff reported cases of students leaving the building at lunchtime to cross the street to McDonald’s and other stores without permission. Since then, according to Kevin McCaskill, who was appointed permanent principal of BHS in January, the problem has decreased.

Xiaoce Yang is the manager of Juicy Seafood Restaurant, located directly behind McDonald’s on Belmont Street. Yang said he used to see fights break out between students in the parking lot outside his restaurant. Now, Yang said, he sees Brockton police patrolling the parking lot after school.

Lopes, Fleming and Yang all said they have had no contact with the school regarding the matter. Yang also said he has not had any problems with students at his company and most children are respectful.

An earlier version of this story misstated Starbucks’ closing hours. The error has been corrected and The Enterprise regrets the error.

Mayor seeks ‘common solution’ to keep Starbucks fully open

Improvement after companies started kicking out students?

Security risks, police on guard

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