In a reversal of a COVID-19 policy, coffee chain Starbucks has brought back self-serve milks and sugars effective Monday. The chain is also offering free refills for certain customers.

The Starbucks condiment bars include multiple creamers, milks and sweetener options. Customers who cannot find the one they want will be able to request them from a barista, the company explained on its website.

The chain got rid of self-serve in order to minimize people’s exposure to surfaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CNN. Its return was requested both by customers and by employees.

“Our customers are asking for it and our baristas are saying it would help them deliver the speed of service that they want to provide,” Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said on the company’s earnings call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Mr. Niccol also said the company is aiming for a wait time of less than four minutes between the point of sale and the customer getting their drink. The condiment bar, he said, would allow the customer to get a simple cup of coffee immediately and then go add what if anything they want to their drink.

People who order drinks and stay in the Starbucks, as opposed to a to-go order, will get their drink in a mug, glass or in a reusable Starbucks cup.

Free refills will be offered if the customer is drinking coffee or tea, hot or iced; the refill offer is not applicable to the chain’s cold brew coffee, iced tea lemonade, flavored ice tea or Starbucks Refreshers flavored drinks, the company specified on its website.

Free refills will also be offered at licensed Starbucks locations in other stores, such as grocery stores or in Target, according to Axios.

The company also on Monday axed its open-door bathroom policy, meaning that only paying customers are allowed to use the restrooms or stay inside a Starbucks lobby.

The company had allowed anyone to use its restrooms following a 2018 controversy in which two Black men waiting at a Philadelphia location for a meeting were arrested after a store employee called the cops because one of the men tried to use the bathroom without buying anything.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.