Bartell Drugs CEO and President Kathi Lentzsch has never minced words about downtown Seattle’s street scene.

That’s why it’s no surprise that the iconic Seattle company has decided to close its store on Third Avenue between Pike and Union streets Nov. 15. No employees will be laid off. The company had previously said it would remain in the space until next year.

“The risk we take every day with our customers and employees is huge,” Lentzsch told me this summer. “I am so concerned something is going to happen to a customer. Customers see something happening and they want to jump in and help.”

Seattle Business magazine’s office is one block away from the soon-to-be closed Bartell’s. I witness drug deals and fend off aggressive panhandlers almost every day. I understand Lentzsch's concerns.