Listen to this articleThe basics:
- Starbucks will shutter 5 New Jersey stores, including Fort Lee and Morristown locations
- Closures are part of a $1B North American restructuring effort
- Company to eliminate 900 non-retail roles, adjust operations
As part of a restructuring effort aimed to save $1 billion, Starbucks will close hundreds of stores across the U.S. and Canada.
While a spokesperson for the Seattle-based giant coffee giant declined to comment on which locations it will shutter, a public Google sheet tracking the closures shows more than 500 potential shutdowns in North America.
Starbucks has not confirmed the list. It includes five New Jersey sites:
- 1616 Bergen Blvd. Fort Lee
- 2215 Route 4 Fort Lee
- 55 Riverwalk Place West New York
- 40 W. Park Place Morristown
- 420 Lacey Road Manchester Township
On Sept. 27, Starbucks included each of those locations on its website and app; however, it listed hours as “closed” starting the following day. As of Sept. 29, the five shops are no longer searchable online.
‘A warm and welcoming space’
In announcing the wave of closures last week, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the sites will go dark because they fall short of the company’s standards or lack a path to financial performance.
In addition, Starbucks will eliminate 900 non-retail partner roles and close many open positions, Niccol wrote in a Sept. 25 memo sent to employees and posted on the company’s blog.
A former chief executive officer at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Niccol took the helm of Starbucks in September 2024. He joined with a goal to improve customer experience and corporate operations.
After six consecutive quarters of declining North American sales, the struggling chain launched a “Back to Starbucks” initiative earlier this month. The campaign aims to “build a better, stronger and more resilient Starbucks.”
“Our goal is for every coffeehouse to deliver a warm and welcoming space with a great atmosphere and a seat for every occasion,” Niccol wrote in his update last week. “During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed.”
2026 growth
Starbucks expects to end its fiscal year with 18,300 stores in the U.S. and Canada, down 124 from the prior year. Worldwide, the company has more than 32,000 outposts.
Following the closures, the chain will have roughly 350 spots in New Jersey.
“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations. This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult,” Niccol wrote.
Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.
– Brian Niccol, Starbucks CEO
He went on to say, “In fiscal year 2026, we’ll grow the number of coffeehouses we operate as we continue to invest in our business. Over the next 12 months, we also plan to uplift more than 1,000 locations to introduce greater texture, warmth, and layered design.”
The company said it will try to offer affected workers jobs at nearby or new shops or provide severance and support packages.
Starbucks Workers United, a union representing 12,000 baristas nationwide, said it expects “to engage in effects bargaining for every impacted union store, as we have done elsewhere, so workers can be placed in another Starbucks store according to their preferences.”
