Is Starbucks Closing Stores?
Yes, and unlike most closure stories this one is real and deliberate. The company announced it, named the plan and budgeted a billion dollars for it. But it is about one percent of the estate, not a collapse.
This site has spent a fair amount of time correcting closure scare stories about other chains. This one is different, and it is worth being clear about why: Starbucks announced it itself, gave the number, named the plan and published the cost.
What was actually announced
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Announcement date | September 25, 2025 |
| Company operated stores closing | Around 400, across North America |
| Job losses | Around 900, non retail corporate roles |
| Total restructuring cost | About $1 billion |
| Of which severance | $150 million |
| Of which store asset disposals | $400 million |
| Of which lease obligations | $450 million |
| Stores remaining in North America | Roughly 11,050 company operated |
| Net change across the year | Around one percent down |
By the end of 2025 the closures had largely taken place, with 42 in New York City alone.
Why they closed them
Chief executive Brian Niccol gave two criteria for which stores went: locations where the company was unable to create the physical environment customers and staff expect, and locations where it saw no path to financial performance.
Read plainly, that is a list of cramped, badly laid out or badly sited stores rather than a list of unpopular ones. Three pressures sit behind it.
Saturation. In some cities Starbucks had put stores within sight of each other, and those locations were mostly taking each other’s customers rather than winning new ones. The company has said it no longer wants to be on every street in New York and Los Angeles.
Remote work. This is the big structural one. Starbucks built its business on being a third place between home and office, and a great many of its most profitable stores were in downtown districts that depended on commuters. A permanent shift in how many people go into an office five days a week takes demand out of those specific locations and does not put it back.
Costs. Rent and labor both rose, and marginal stores that worked at 2019 costs do not work now.
What the Back to Starbucks plan actually is
The closures are the visible half of a wider turnaround, and the other half is spending rather than cutting.
Starbucks said it would focus on fewer, stronger locations and new store designs from 2026, and put money into two things: renovating existing stores and adding labor in them.
The reasoning is that the chain had drifted toward being a drive thru and mobile order operation, which stripped out the thing that justified its prices in the first place. Adding staff shortens waits, and renovating stores makes them somewhere people want to stay. Both are aimed at getting customers to visit more often and stay longer.
Whether that works is a genuinely open question. It is, though, the opposite of a company winding down.
How worried should you be about your local one?
Statistically, not very. Around 400 closures against roughly 11,050 company operated North American stores is a net reduction of about one percent.
Two things are worth knowing if you want to judge your own store:
The closures were concentrated, not spread evenly. Dense urban markets took most of them, with New York alone losing 42. A store in a suburb or a smaller city was far less exposed than one on a downtown block with three others nearby.
Licensed stores are a separate question. The 400 were company operated. Starbucks counters inside supermarkets, airports, hotels and campuses are run by other businesses under license, and their fate depends on the host, not on this plan.
The only reliable check for a specific address is the official app or store locator. Prices and the current menu are on the Starbucks menu.
Is Starbucks in trouble?
It is in a turnaround, which is not the same thing.
A company in trouble closes stores to raise cash. A company in a turnaround closes weak stores and spends a billion dollars restructuring while investing in the ones it keeps. Starbucks is doing the second, and it hired a new chief executive to do it.
The honest summary is a chain that over-expanded into locations that no longer work, in a world where fewer people commute daily, correcting itself deliberately and expensively. That is a real problem being addressed, not a collapse.
Related Questions
Is Starbucks closing stores?
Yes. On September 25, 2025 Starbucks announced it would close around 400 company operated stores in North America and cut about 900 non retail jobs as part of its Back to Starbucks turnaround. The restructuring cost roughly $1 billion and left about 11,050 company operated stores in North America, a net decline of around one percent.
How many Starbucks stores closed?
Around 400 company operated locations across North America, with the closures largely completed by the end of 2025. New York City alone lost 42. The company ended with roughly 11,050 company operated North American stores, which is about one percent fewer than at the start of the financial year.
Why is Starbucks closing locations?
Chief executive Brian Niccol said the company was closing stores where it could not create the physical environment customers and staff expect, or where it saw no path to financial performance. Behind that sit three pressures: over-saturation in dense cities, the permanent drop in commuter traffic caused by remote work, and rising rent and labor costs.
What is the Back to Starbucks plan?
A turnaround under chief executive Brian Niccol that pairs closures with investment. Alongside shutting around 400 weak stores, Starbucks said it would focus on fewer, stronger locations and new store designs from 2026, and spend on renovating existing stores and adding staff to them, with the aim of increasing how often customers visit and how long they stay.
Is Starbucks going out of business?
No. Around 400 closures against roughly 11,050 company operated North American stores is a net reduction of about one percent, and the company spent about $1 billion restructuring while investing in the stores it kept. That is a turnaround, not a wind down. A failing business closes stores to raise cash rather than to fund renovations.
Did remote work cause the Starbucks closures?
It is one of the three stated pressures and arguably the most structural. Starbucks built its model on being a third place between home and work, and many of its strongest stores sat in downtown districts that ran on commuter traffic. Fewer people going into an office five days a week permanently removes demand from those specific sites.
How do I know if my local Starbucks is closing?
Check the official Starbucks app or store locator for that address, since third party closure lists are unreliable for any individual store. Note also that the 400 closures were company operated locations. Starbucks counters inside supermarkets, airports, hotels and campuses are licensed to other businesses and are not covered by this plan.
More on Starbucks
About this guide. USA Food Menu is an independent reference site and is not affiliated with Starbucks Corporation. Closure counts, restructuring costs, store numbers and quoted comments were taken from the company’s September 2025 announcement and financial news reporting, and change each quarter. Individual store decisions are not published in advance, so confirm any specific location in the official app. Current prices and calories are on the Starbucks menu.
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