> Kyle Trainer, a barista at the location, said he believed Starbucks eliminated seating due to homeless individuals and people with mental illnesses around the neighborhood. He added that Starbucks does not adequately train team members to manage stressful situations and that the chain would rather “remove the seating, close the bathroom and not deal with it.”

Being in SF versus other cities and suburbs very likely has something to do with it, I'm not sure where you live but they're apparently bring back more furniture as cited in a link in my other comments. But who knows, maybe they're prioritizing bringing back furniture based on many factors.