Starbucks closed about 250 North American stores in September, its second big round under CEO Brian Niccol. Here’s why, how to check your store and what Starbucks says about 2027.
The Starbucks holiday menu is back, which means a lot of people are opening the app this week for a Peppermint Mocha. Some of them are finding out their usual store is gone.
Starbucks closed about 250 company-run stores in North America in late September. It’s the second big wave of closures since Brian Niccol took over as CEO in 2024, and the company never published a list of which stores were cut.
Here’s what Starbucks has said, what we could confirm and whether more closings are coming.
Why did Starbucks close 250 stores?
Starbucks gave its reason in its fourth-quarter earnings release on Oct. 29. It said it closed about 250 North American stores “that do not deliver the coffeehouse experience and financial performance expected of the brand.”
In plain English, these were stores that weren’t making enough money, or stores Starbucks didn’t think could ever feel like the cozy coffee shop it’s trying to bring back.
Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams put it this way in a letter to employees, according to the Associated Press. “While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”
Niccol said much the same on the earnings call. “In North America, we closed coffeehouses that didn’t show a path to delivering the experience or financial performance we expect,” he said.
Is there a list of Starbucks stores that closed?
Starbucks hasn’t released one. The company didn’t say which stores were closing or how many were in the U.S., the AP reported.
The best clues are state layoff notices, which companies file before big job cuts. In Washington, Starbucks filed one for five stores, according to KOMO News:
7625 170th Ave. NE in Redmond
9150 Rainier Ave. S in Seattle
999 Leary Way NW in Seattle
2401 W. Wellesley Ave. in Spokane
918 SE 164th Ave. in Vancouver
That filing covers 51 workers, including eight jobs at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. Their separations run from Nov. 14 through Dec. 4, KOMO reported.
Starbucks Workers United, the union for about 700 U.S. stores, said 20 union stores were among the 250, per the AP. For your own store, the quickest check is the store finder in the Starbucks app.
How many Starbucks stores are there now?
Starbucks ended its fiscal year on Sept. 27 with 18,176 stores in North America, according to the earnings release. That’s down from 18,311 a year earlier.
The U.S. count was 16,781. Worldwide, Starbucks has 41,607 coffee shops, and about two-thirds of them are licensed locations, like the ones inside Target or airports.
CFO Cathy Smith said on the call that company-run stores in North America saw 247 net closures in the quarter, mostly from the September cuts.
What happened to Starbucks workers at closed stores?
Starbucks said it would move workers to other stores when it could and offer severance when it couldn’t, according to the AP.
The AP also reported Starbucks expected about $300 million in charges for this round. That included $200 million in cash costs for leases and severance.
Will Starbucks close more stores after the holidays?
Starbucks hasn’t said it will. Nothing in its Oct. 29 earnings release or call announced another round of closings.
In fact, the plan for fiscal 2027 runs the other way. Starbucks expects about 1,200 net new stores worldwide, including 90 to 100 net new stores in North America. It also plans to remodel more than 2,000 stores next year.
Niccol did say there’ll be fewer new company-run stores in 2027 while Starbucks rebuilds its pipeline. He also said he sees room for about 5,000 more North American coffee shops “over time.”
“Back to Starbucks started as our turnaround plan. Now, it’s our growth plan,” Niccol said in the earnings release. That doesn’t promise every store is safe forever. Starbucks has done two of these cleanups in two years, both in September.
What’s on the Starbucks holiday menu for 2026?
The holiday menu launched Nov. 5, and Red Cup Day is Nov. 17, according to ConsumerAffairs. New this year are the Tiramisu Velvet Latte and Tiramisu Velvet Cold Brew, plus Apple Pomegranate and Snowy Apple Refreshers.
The usual crew is back too: Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee Latte, Sugar Cookie Latte and Gingerbread Chai. Your closest store just might be a little farther away than last winter.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Starbucks (Oct. 29, 2026), fourth-quarter earnings release with closure reason, store counts and 2027 outlook
The Motley Fool (Oct. 30, 2026), earnings call transcript with Niccol and Smith quotes
Associated Press (Sept. 24, 2026), Grams letter, closure count, workers, charges and union figures
KOMO News (Oct. 7, 2026), Washington layoff notice and store addresses
ConsumerAffairs (Oct. 28, 2026), 2026 holiday menu and Red Cup Day date
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