At least two San Francisco Starbucks locations are permanently closing, and more will be closed next week as the company undergoes nationwide restructuring.
A Jefferson Street store near Fisherman’s Wharf and an 18th Street store in the heart of the Castro both had identical posted signs Friday announcing their closures.
“We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close this Starbucks location by the end of the week. We know this may be hard to hear,” the signs read.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said Thursday the company expects to end the fiscal year, which closes Sunday, with roughly 400 fewer stores in North America than it had at the end of June.
“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,” Niccol wrote.
The company has not released a list of closures, but an online store locator shows over a dozen locations in the Bay Area set to be closed all next week.
In San Francisco, those include the Fisherman’s Wharf and Castro locations — the latter notable as the first unionized store in the city — as well as:
San Mateo County locations listed as closed next week:
East Bay locations listed as closed next week:
In the North Bay, The Press Democrat reports at least six planned closures:
“This announcement makes it clear things are only going Backwards at Starbucks under Brian Niccol’s leadership,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement. “Yet again, we’re experiencing new policies and major decisions being made with zero barista input.”
The push to unionize Starbucks has surged in recent years. Baristas formed Starbucks Workers United in New York in December of 2021, and by the following May, California employees had organized four locations in a single week. Earlier this month, the union announced its 650th successful vote nationwide.
A Starbucks spokesperson said unionized status was not considered when deciding which stores to close. Niccol said the company plans to offer transfers to employees at shuttered stores and severance packages for those who can’t be reassigned. Starbucks will also cut about 900 non-retail jobs and eliminate some open positions.
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