Starbucks to Close 250 Locations, Take $300M Charge

For retail operators and landlords, Starbucks' decision to close 250 locations is less a retreat than a reset toward unit economics. With roughly $1.2 million in charges per closure and a cut in planned openings from as many as 650 to 440 globally, the coffee giant is prioritizing throughput, café experience, and profitability over footprint growth.

Starbucks announced it will close approximately 250 North American locations in the coming days, part of a multi-year turnaround led by CEO Brian Niccol. The closures represent about 1% of the company's roughly 18,000-location North American footprint, and the company said the affected locations either failed to deliver the experience it wants for customers and partners or were not financially viable. The move was disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, September 24, 2026, and Starbucks expects to incur approximately $300 million in charges related to the closures, $200 million of which stems from ending leases early and severance benefits for employees. Customers will start seeing signs on affected cafés this weekend, and the closures will be reflected in the Starbucks app, though a detailed list of locations was not immediately released.

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The $300 million charge is substantial but manageable against a company of Starbucks' scale, and it follows prior restructuring expenses tied to the turnaround.

The current round of closures echoes a similar announcement made a year ago, when Niccol introduced store closures and corporate layoffs as part of a $1 billion restructuring program. That earlier effort was an early signal of the CEO's strategy to overhaul the company's operations rather than rely on store-count growth. Since then, the company has shifted its North American focus to café renovations, improved service, and a simplified menu. This latest round of store rationalization is not an emergency retrenchment but a continuation of a deliberate plan to strengthen unit economics and brand quality. With roughly $1.2 million in charges per store on average, the decision to exit these locations underscores the financial drag of underperforming units and the importance of lease flexibility in a higher-cost operating environment.

The financial details highlight both the short-term cost and the longer-term strategic trade-off. The $300 million charge is substantial but manageable against a company of Starbucks' scale, and it follows prior restructuring expenses tied to the turnaround. More notable is the reduction in new store openings: Starbucks now forecasts about 440 new locations globally during this fiscal year, down from a previously announced 600 to 650. That is a cut of roughly 160 to 210 planned new stores, or about 30% in expected gross openings, and it signals that the company is prioritizing the quality and profitability of existing stores over footprint expansion. For a brand that once used rapid unit growth as a primary growth lever, this is a meaningful strategic shift with implications for real estate partners, franchisees, and competitors.