Starbucks has said it will close 250 underperforming coffeehouses in North America, equal to 1% of its more than 18,000 sites in the region.
The company has not yet said which locations will be affected.
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Chief operating officer Mike Grams outlined the decision in a public statement, saying that although the majority of Starbucks’ North American outlets remain profitable, a small number have continued to struggle.
“We have carefully reviewed our North America coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we do not believe we can consistently deliver the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don’t see a path to acceptable financial performance,” Grams wrote in a letter addressed to employees.
“Closing any coffeehouse is a difficult decision, and we know today’s news will be hard for the partners, customers and communities affected,” the letter read.
In a regulatory filing, Starbucks said the latest closures would lead to roughly $300m in restructuring charges.
Of that total, the company expects $200m to be cash charges, mainly linked to lease exit costs and employee separation benefits.
The remaining $100m is expected to be non-cash charges tied to the disposal and impairment of company-operated coffeehouse assets.
Starbucks also reduced its outlook for net new global company-operated and licensed coffeehouse openings in the 2026 financial year. It now expects around 440 net new openings, compared with earlier guidance of 600 to 650.
The company said it still sees “significant longer-term growth opportunity” in North America and is continuing to build a pipeline of new coffeehouses.
According to the filing, most of the closures are expected to take place before the end of fiscal 2026.
The announcement follows a separate restructuring effort a year ago, when Starbucks closed several underperforming stores in the region, including its Seattle roastery, at an estimated cost of about $1bn.
