Starbucks is closing over 500 stores in the United States. Some are because foot and auto traffic shifted, others because superior competitors opened nearby.

But a disturbing number are because of fears about basic public safety. Take San Jose, whose one million people make it the 3rd largest city in California and the 12th largest in the nation. Its downtown once boasted eight Starbucks. But as of this week, it will be down to two.

Opportunity Now, a local business blog, reports:

Nor is San Jose unique. A Starbucks analyst reports that all of the company’s new revenue is from recently opened drive-through stores, which make a profit within months of opening.  The stores that are closing are disproportionally in dysfunctional cities where the restrooms have become eyesores and targets of the homeless.

If this is what is happening in San Jose, a rich city and the heart of high-tech Silicon Valley,  you can imagine what is happening in other cities.