[ALERT] Starbucks Closures Include Three in Atlanta, Stores to Shutter This Weekend

Starbucks announced in a message to employees on September 25 that it would close about 1% of its stores in its latest move under CEO Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" transformation strategy.  

The closures, primarily in North America, will affect several hundred stores.  No closure list was announced by the company, but ToNeTo Atlanta has been able to confirm at least three affected stores in metro Atlanta.  

The company had 18,734 North American locations at the end of June, and the company said it will end September with 18,300 stores.  “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,” chief executive Brian Niccol said in a letter to employees.  (Niccol joined Starbucks last August after about six years in the same role at Chipotle.)  

All three locations slated for closure are within the City of Atlanta, including two that have been in business for many years.  

The drive-thru enabled Starbucks at 1870 Piedmont Avenue in Piedmont Heights is the newest store to close, having opened September 18, 2019.  Locals will recall that this location, across from the Sprouts Farmers Market, was heavily altered by the coffee chain (reportedly beyond the agreed upon scope) from its original mid-century form to a more boxy [boring] design. Today, the structure, which was first built in 1956, looks nothing like its original tenant: First Federal Savings Bank.  

Einstein Bros. Bagels and Saigon Basil also previously occupied the building, but maintained the original architecturally interesting structure.   

The Piedmont Avenue closure comes just three months after the chain closed its longstanding shop at nearby Ansley Mall.  The Ansley Mall coffeehouse closed June 8 after the company reportedly decided not to renew its lease, while some suggest that its closure was related to the location's successful unionization vote in 2022.  

Starbucks will also close its longstanding shop at 21 14th Street in Midtown.  The freestanding location does not have a drive-thru but was a popular destination for Midtown residents and has been in business for many years.  Fulton County property records indicate that the coffee shop's building was first constructed 1948, and occupies .43 acres.  Locals suggest that Starbucks has occupied the building well over two decades.

Situated between the Atlantic House highrise apartment tower and the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown, the real estate will likely be a hot commodity with development of the well-located property likely.  

The company also plans to close its coffee shop at 100 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.  The Starbucks at the "Equitable Building" has occupied a street-level space in the downtown high-rise office tower for a long time, similarly to that of the Midtown unit. The shop is located a stone's throw from Georgia State's Aderhold Learning Center on Luckie Street.  

The downtown Atlanta location closed as of 6PM September 26, while the Piedmont Avenue and 14th Street locations will close as of September 27 at 6PM and 7PM, respectively.  

Elsewhere around metro Atlanta, Starbucks plans to rebuild and enhance its former location in Buckhead Landing (former Disco Kroger center), but months after knocking down 85% of the building, no visible work has occurred.  A location at the corner of LaVista and Briarcliff Roads that was to have closed only temporarily for road work was seemingly starved of its parking in the process and opted to not reopen the shop.  

In Buckhead, where Starbucks had previously closed locations within both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, the coffee shop returned earlier this summer with a new location, in a new area of Lenox Square.  The company in 2024 received approval for a drive-thru location in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall, but ultimately, reportedly after a review of planned stores by Niccol, the store was abandoned.  

Among the notable Starbucks elsewhere around the country that were affected by the recent news were locations in downtown Boston's Government Center, where the coffee shop occupied a landmark location below a large steaming brass kettle, as well the company's "flagship" in Seattle.  The Boston location is due to shutter as of the close of business on September 28, while the Seattle shop, which spanned nearly 15,000 square feet, represented a $20 million investment, and opened to much fanfare in December 2014, has already closed.  Located at 1124 Pike Street, just minutes from Starbucks headquarters, the roastery was housed in a 1920s-era building that was once home to an auto showroom. Then-CEO Howard Schultz referred to it at the time as the “Willy Wonka of coffee.”

Are you surprised by which locations Starbucks has decided to close in metro Atlanta?  What would you like to see open in place of the closed and soon-to-close locations?  Has your opinion of Starbucks gotten better, worse, or stayed the same in the year since Brian Niccol took over?

Please share your thoughts below.