Starbucks to close 250 North American cafes as part of turnaround strategy

Starbucks on Thursday announced it will close about 1% of its North American cafes as part of its turnaround.

Under CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks has staged a revamp of its U.S. business that has focused on improving the customer experience, including in-person interactions at its cafes. The announcement marks the second round of closures in North America during Niccol's two-year tenure.

Starbucks expects to shutter about 250 cafes out of its more than 18,000 locations in North America. For fiscal 2026, Starbucks is now projecting net new openings of 440 cafes, down from its prior outlook of 600 to 650 locations. Those new cafes will come from its international markets.

"The Company continues to see significant longer-term growth opportunity ahead in North America and is actively developing a strong pipeline of new coffeehouses," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Most of the closures will occur before the end of fiscal 2026, according to the filing. Starbucks' fiscal year ends later this month.

The company expects to incur about $300 million in restructuring charges related to the closures. About $200 million of that charge will be related to the costs of exiting leases early and paying employees separation benefits. The remaining $100 million will be non-cash charges from the disposal and impairment of its company-owned restaurant assets.