Introduction
Starbucks closing searches have surged after the coffee giant announced that approximately 250 North American coffeehouses would shut down during the final week of September 2026. Starbucks said the closures represent about 1% of its more than 18,000 North American locations and involve stores where the company does not see a path to acceptable financial performance or the customer experience it wants.
The company did not initially publish a complete list of affected stores. Local reporting and Starbucks’ store locator have since made a substantial portion of the closures visible, with Fast Company reporting locations across 33 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.
This is therefore a significant store-closure round, but Starbucks says it is happening alongside continued investment in its remaining coffeehouses and a pipeline of new stores.
Background and Context
The closures are part of CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy, which focuses on the physical coffeehouse experience, service and the role of Starbucks locations as places where customers can stay and connect.
Starbucks has been restructuring its store portfolio as part of that strategy. The company also says it closes some coffeehouses every year while opening others and that it remains committed to long-term growth in North America.
The September 2026 announcement came alongside a broader push to remodel existing locations. Starbucks said it had already completed more than 1,000 coffeehouse “uplifts” across the U.S. and Canada and was accelerating toward at least 1,500 by fiscal year-end 2026.
That creates an important distinction: the company is not simply reducing its physical footprint. It is simultaneously closing selected stores, remodeling others and developing new locations.
Latest Update: Starbucks Closing Locations Across North America
Starbucks announced on September 24 that approximately 250 stores would close during the following week.
Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the affected locations were identified after a review of the North American coffeehouse portfolio. Starbucks said some stores could not consistently deliver the customer and partner experience it wanted, while others lacked a path toward acceptable financial performance.
Fast Company’s updated list, based largely on local reporting and store-locator changes, identifies closures in 33 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada. It also notes that Starbucks itself had not published a comprehensive public list at the time of its report.
States and regions represented in the reported list
The reported U.S. locations span:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Washington, D.C.
Canada is also represented, with locations listed in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
California and New York see large numbers of reported closures
Fast Company reported that California had 43 closures on the KGW8 list, while New York had 16.
The published list includes numerous California locations, including stores in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area communities and other markets.
New York’s reported closures include several New York City locations as well as stores in Amherst, Blasdell, Brighton, Commack, Fairport, Greenvale, Islip, New Rochelle and Yonkers.
Starbucks Closing in Wisconsin: Three Confirmed Locations
Wisconsin has become one of the states receiving particular attention because three locations were identified by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The affected stores are:
| City | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 1438 E. Brady St. | Closing |
| Madison | 1609 S. Park St. | Closing |
| Two Rivers | 1509 Washington St. | Closing |
A Starbucks spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel that the three Wisconsin stores were among those being closed and that the affected locations were not meeting performance or customer-experience goals.
The Milwaukee location had reopened in 2024, while the Two Rivers store had been open for roughly two years, according to the Journal Sentinel report.
Read the Wisconsin closure report
Starbucks Closing in Idaho: Two Boise-Area Stores Shut
Idaho has also seen two closures.
The affected locations are:
- 5586 N. Maple Grove Road, Garden City
- 2155 S. Substation Road, Emmett
The Idaho Statesman reported that both locations had been vacated and covered after closing. The Emmett closure leaves the city with one remaining Starbucks inside an Albertsons on State Highway 16, according to the report.
Read the Idaho Statesman report
The closures were part of the same nationwide round announced by Starbucks on September 24.
Expert Insights and Retail Analysis
The most important detail in the Starbucks announcement is not simply the number of stores.
It is how Starbucks is choosing which stores to remove.
Mike Grams said the company evaluated individual coffeehouses based on their ability to deliver the desired customer experience and their prospects for acceptable financial performance.
That suggests a portfolio-management approach rather than a uniform reduction across markets.
Store performance is becoming more important
Starbucks said most of its North American stores are benefiting from the broader momentum of the “Back to Starbucks” strategy, but some locations continue to underperform.
That means two Starbucks stores in the same city can face very different outcomes.
Factors can include:
- Local customer traffic
- Store economics
- The physical condition of the location
- Service capacity
- Nearby competition
- Lease economics
- The company’s ability to deliver its desired coffeehouse experience
The company has not publicly provided a store-by-store explanation for every closure.
The closures come with employee support measures
Starbucks said employees at affected locations will receive support during the transition.
Where possible, the company says employees will have opportunities to transfer to other coffeehouses. Partners who cannot be placed in another location will receive severance support.
The exact number of permanent job losses from this closure round remains less clear.
Broader Implications
Starbucks is shrinking some locations while investing heavily in others
The most revealing part of the announcement is the simultaneous investment.
Starbucks said it is accelerating its program to complete at least 1,500 coffeehouse uplifts by fiscal year-end 2026.
Those renovations are designed to make stores feel more welcoming, with softer seating, new textures, artwork, greenery and local design elements.
That tells us something about where the company believes its physical stores still matter.
Starbucks is not treating the physical coffeehouse as obsolete. Instead, it is attempting to make selected locations more useful and more aligned with its desired customer experience.
Starbucks still says North American growth is ahead
The company’s own September announcement states that it remains committed to North American growth and is developing a pipeline of new coffeehouses.
That makes the 250-store closure announcement more complicated than a simple “Starbucks is disappearing” narrative.
The company is pruning certain locations while allocating capital to other stores and continuing to develop new ones.
The closures show why viral store lists need context
Search interest can make a closure story look larger than the underlying change.
The supplied Google Trends screenshot shows a dramatic spike for “coffee shops near me”, with Starbucks closure stories appearing prominently in the news results.
But a search spike does not mean every Starbucks location is closing.
The company’s own announcement says the approximately 250 closures represent about 1% of its more than 18,000 North American coffeehouses.
Related History and Comparable Retail Strategies
Starbucks has been using store closures as part of its restructuring strategy before the latest round.
Fast Company notes that Starbucks closed approximately 1% of its North American stores in the previous year as part of the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround effort.
The company’s fiscal 2026 reporting also recorded restructuring and impairment costs associated with the program. Its second-quarter results noted that 62 stores were closed in Q2 fiscal 2026 as part of the “Back to Starbucks” restructuring plan.
The current approach is therefore part of a multi-year portfolio reset.
The difference this time is the scale of the latest announcement and the amount of location-level attention it has generated.
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether more stores will be added to publicly reported closure lists.
Starbucks itself initially declined to provide a comprehensive list of locations. Fast Company noted that the locations appearing in Google and Starbucks’ own store locator were being pieced together through local reporting and other sources.
That means lists circulating online should be treated carefully.
Fast Company specifically warned that one crowdsourced list based on store data was not an official Starbucks closure list and could contain discrepancies.
For customers, the most reliable way to check a specific location is Starbucks’ own store locator.
For employees, the key issue is whether transfers are available and how the company implements severance for workers who cannot be relocated.
For investors and retail analysts, the bigger question is whether the combination of closures, remodels and new-store development improves store productivity and customer traffic over time.
Conclusion
The Starbucks closing story is substantial, but it is not a nationwide shutdown.
Starbucks announced approximately 250 North American coffeehouse closures, equal to roughly 1% of its more than 18,000 locations in the region. The company says the affected stores were selected because they were not consistently delivering the desired customer experience or did not have a path toward acceptable financial performance.
Local reporting has identified stores across dozens of states, including three in Wisconsin and two in the Boise area.
At the same time, Starbucks says it is accelerating renovations of at least 1,500 coffeehouses and continues to develop new stores in North America.
The result is a more nuanced retail strategy: close selected stores, invest heavily in others and continue looking for locations where Starbucks believes the coffeehouse model can work.
FAQ
1. Is Starbucks closing stores in 2026?
Yes. Starbucks announced that approximately 250 North American coffeehouses would close during the final week of September 2026. The company said the closures represent about 1% of its more than 18,000 North American stores.
2. Why is Starbucks closing stores?
Starbucks said the affected stores were locations where it did not believe it could consistently deliver the desired customer and partner experience or achieve acceptable financial performance.
3. How many Starbucks stores are closing?
Starbucks announced approximately 250 closures across North America. The company initially did not publish a complete store-by-store list.
4. Which Starbucks stores are closing in Wisconsin?
Three Wisconsin stores were identified: 1438 E. Brady St. in Milwaukee, 1609 S. Park St. in Madison and 1509 Washington St. in Two Rivers.
5. Which Starbucks stores are closing in Idaho?
Two Boise-area stores were reported as closed: the Maple Grove Road location in Garden City and the Substation Road location in Emmett.
6. Is Starbucks closing all its stores?
No. Starbucks said the 250 closures represent about 1% of its North American coffeehouses. The company also says it is continuing to develop new locations and renovate existing stores.
7. Are Starbucks employees losing their jobs?
Starbucks said affected employees will be offered transfer opportunities where possible. Employees who cannot be placed in another coffeehouse will receive severance support.
8. Will Starbucks open new stores after the closures?
Starbucks says it remains committed to long-term North American growth and is actively developing a pipeline of new coffeehouses.
Sources & References
- Starbucks: “Creating Coffeehouses Customers Love and Partners are Proud of”
Read the official Starbucks announcement - Fast Company: “Starbucks store closures: See a list of locations that have shuttered across the country in latest coffeehouse cull”
Read the reported closure list - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Starbucks closing three Wisconsin stores as part of nationwide cuts”
Read the Wisconsin closure report - Idaho Statesman: “Two Boise-area Starbucks locations have shut down amid national company closures”
Read the Idaho report - Starbucks: “More than 1,000 Starbucks coffeehouses redesigned across the U.S. and Canada”
Read the Starbucks renovation update
