Starbucks Corp. is closing roughly 1% of its North American locations amid its ongoing "Back to Starbucks" turnaround strategy.
The coffee giant on Thursday said it plans to shutter approximately 250 of the more than 18,000 cafes it operates across North America. In a letter to employees on the company's website, COO Mike Grams said the closings will occur this week.
According to Grams, the locations going dark are those where Starbucks doesn't believe it can consistently deliver "the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don't see a path to acceptable financial performance." He noted that store closings and openings are part of Starbucks' ongoing portfolio management.
"We remain excited about the significant long-term growth opportunity ahead in North America," Grams said. "We are actively developing a strong pipeline of new coffeehouses and remain committed to growth in North America."
For fiscal 2026, Starbucks now forecasts net new openings of 440 coffeehouses, down from its prior outlook of 600 to 650 locations the company said in a regulatory filing.
Starbucks expects to incur about $300 million in restructuring charges related to the closures. About ...