The Starbucks logo appears at a store in Houston on September 25, 2025.
Ronaldo Schmidt Afp | Getty Images
Starbucks It was announced that it will close about 1% of North American cafes as part of its turnaround.
Under CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks has carried out a revamp of its US business that has focused on improving the customer experience, including personal interactions in its cafes. The announcement marks the second round of closures in North America during Niccol’s two-year tenure.
Starbucks expects to close 250 underperforming cafes out of more than 18,000 locations in North America. It was not immediately clear where the closure was located.
“We have carefully reviewed the North American coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we are not sure we can consistently deliver the desired experience to customers and partners or where we do not see a path to acceptable financial performance,” Mike Grams, chief operating officer of Starbucks, wrote in a letter addressed to employees.
For fiscal 2026, Starbucks now plans to open 440 new cafes, down from 600 to 650 locations previously. The new cafe will come from the international market.
“The company continues to see significant long-term growth opportunities in North America and is actively developing a strong new coffee pipeline,” Starbucks said in a regulatory filing.
Most of the closings will occur before the end of fiscal 2026, according to the filing. Starbucks’ fiscal year ends this month.
The company expects restructuring costs of $300 million related to the closing. About $200 million of those costs will be related to early lease exit costs and paying employee severance benefits. The remaining $100 million will be non-cash charges from the disposal and impairment of company-owned restaurant assets.