Starbucks Closings Now Raise Questions About Minnesota Stores

Starbucks may be brewing up more than lattes—it’s also stirring concerns with another wave of store closings and layoffs. The news is leaving some Minnesotans wondering if their favorite coffeehouse could be next on the chopping block.

Starbucks' Restructuring Plan: Layoffs and Store Closures

Starbucks has been making the news more often in 2025. Back in January, it announced a new code of conduct for its cafes, as it rolled out a new 'buy something or leave' policy. Axios reported that the change rolled back a previous policy that had been in place since 2018.

Then, in February, Starbucks quietly announced it was laying off around 1,100 of its corporate employees, though those cuts didn't affect any employees at any of its cafe locations here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and across the country.

Number of Starbucks Locations in the U.S. and Minnesota

And, by the way, there are a *lot* of Starbucks locations across the fruited plain of the United States. While Starbucks itself hadn't published the number of its cafes previously, this new announcement says it will end 2025 with nearly 18,300 locations here in the U.S.

ALSO INTERESTING: This Fast Food Chain Now Has the Most Locations in Minnesota

California has the most, with 3,080 Starbucks locations, followed by Texas, Florida, and Washington, which is home to the city of Seattle, where the coffee chain was founded. Here in the North Star State, we're ranked 22nd, with around 184 Starbucks locations, according to World Population Review. The data doesn't break down how many of those are stand-alone locations, and how many are located in other businesses, like Target stores.

Are Minnesota Starbucks Locations on the Chopping Block?

But on Thursday, this MSNBC story reported that after previously saying the company would be slowing new openings in favor of remodeling existing locations this year, Starbucks is now moving ahead with the next step in its $1 billion restructuring plan: a move that would close around 500 locations and lay off another 900 employees.

According to this AP story, most of the stores that are closing are located in the U.S. and Canada, while other stores in the U.K., Austria, and Switzerland will also be closing. The AP said Starbucks didn't specifically identify which specific store locations here in Minnesota or across the country would be closing, but said:

A review of the company’s stores identified locations where 'the company doesn’t see a path to financial stability or isn’t able to create the physical environment customers expect,' with those stores closing, the story noted.

Coffee is popular pretty much any time of the day, but many of us can't get our day started without a cup of joe, whether or not we have breakfast, right? Speaking of breakfast, keep scrolling to see how many vintage varieties of another morning staple-- cereal-- you remember from back in the day.

Listen to Curt St. John & Samm Adams
Weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5