Make New York Post a Preferred Source The Big Apple is losing some beans.
Starbucks, the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, is shrinking as the company announces plans to close 250 U.S. locations, including a reported 17 stores in New York State and eight in New York City.
“We have carefully reviewed our North America coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we do not believe we can consistently deliver the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don’t see a path to acceptable financial performance,” Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said in a statement.
“Closing any coffeehouse is a difficult decision,” continued the exec. “We know today’s news will be hard for the partners, customers and communities affected.”
And Gothamites are particularly at risk for a caffeine crash.
Nearly 10% of Starbucks closures will happen in the Empire State, according to public reports.
That comes on the heels of a mass layoff last year, when the Frappuccino moguls axed 900 corporate staffers. In May, Starbucks laid off an additional 300 non-retail employees and shuttered several offices.
Now Starbucks is in the midst of a $1 billion restructuring effort aimed at creating smaller, cushier atmospheres for Starbucks buffs craving “third space” coziness as much as they crave a gingerbread latte.
The java joint’s new café prototype debuted in San Antonio last month. It offers plusher seating and an upgraded espresso bar, per CNN.
“These particular new formats are really stretching us to be more adaptable to different types of location, different shapes and different sizes, but they still hold all of the aspects of the (coffee house) experience,” Dawn Clark, senior vice president of global concepts and design at Starbucks, told the outlet.
So far, roughly 1,000 existing locations have been redesigned in North America, with Starbucks planning to accelerate the facelifts through 2027.
But when it comes to the upcoming store closures in and around Manhattan, social media isn’t shedding many tears.
“Starbucks service and quality have gone downhill, but yet they continue to raise prices. No thanks,” another tweeted.
“I love how it spent the last 10 yrs opening a store every 4 blocks, all new construction BTW, then a remodel 5 yrs later, and now will spend the next 3 yrs closing them,” quipped a seemingly unsympathetic X user.
“Adios to yet another generic crap coffee chain,” spat a separate digital detractor.
Here is a list of the New York stores slated for closure, according to reports:
