At least 3 Starbucks on Long Island among 250 to be closed in latest round of shutdowns

Starbucks is closing about 250 North American stores, including at least three on Long Island, as the world’s largest coffee chain pushes forward with a turnaround.

In the second round of closings announced in a year, the stores being closed in the U.S. and Canada this week represent about 1% of the more than 18,000 company-operated and licensed Starbucks shops in North America, according to the Seattle-based coffee chain.

The three closing Long Island stores — in Commack, at 125 Crooked Hill Rd.; Greenvale, at 114 Northern Blvd.; and Islip, at 455 E. Main St. — will shutter permanently Saturday evening, shop employees said. Letters about the impending closings are posted on the doors of the stores. 

After a sales slump in 2024 and 2025, the coffee chain has been undergoing a turnaround, under a "Back to Starbucks" strategy, which includes enhancing in-store experiences and remodeling stores. The restructuring plan, announced in September 2024, is aimed at reestablishing Starbucks as the community coffeehouse, the company said.

The closing stores are underperforming, Mike Grams, Starbucks Corp.’s chief operating officer, wrote in a letter to employees on Thursday that said the shutdowns would take place this week.

"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," he said.

Brian Niccol, Starbucks' chairman and CEO, gave a similar explanation in a September 2025 letter, when he announced that the company's number of North American stores would decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025, factoring in openings and closings, and the company would eliminate approximately 900 nonretail jobs.

On Friday, Starbucks' corporate office declined to disclose the locations of all the stores closing this week or the number of employees being affected by the shutdowns.

Employees will be given the opportunity to transfer to other stores when possible, the company said.

Those who are unable to transfer may be eligible for severance packages that include current pay and benefits through at least Oct. 4, Starbucks said.

Starbucks has about 90 stores on Long Island.

‘Repositioning its assets’

Starbucks was challenged by sales slumps in 2024 and 2025, amid growing competition from independent and national coffee retailers, and as consumers cut back on discretionary spending.

Also, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, customer demand fell due to higher drink prices and longer wait times when Starbucks was inundated with complicated, highly customized mobile orders, according to Ari Felhandler, equity analyst for Morningstar Equity Research, a financial services firm in Chicago.

That led to Starbucks’ former leadership instituting discounting, which was the wrong move because it diluted the brand’s value, Felhandler said in an email.

At Starbucks’ North American stores open at least one year, sales fell 2% in fiscal year 2025 compared to the previous year. The decline was the same in fiscal year 2024 compared to the previous year.

In September 2024, shortly after Niccol stepped into the role of chairman and CEO, he announced the launch of "Back to Starbucks."

The redesign includes more seating, warmer lighting and cozier interiors in stores.

The updates also include the return of power outlets, condiment bars and markers for baristas to write messages on cups in U.S. stores. Ceramic mugs and glassware were added for customers who drink their beverages in the stores, and espresso bars are being updated.

The changes meant a return to some of the features that gave Starbucks a reputation as a "third place," a term for settings other than home and work, such as coffee shops, parks and other places where people linger to socialize.

Since mid-2025, Starbucks has remodeled more than 1,000 stores in the U.S and Canada. It started with four stores in the Hamptons.

Starbucks’ current leadership’s focus on the café experience, menu innovation and simplification, and other areas appears to be paying off, Felhandler said.

The coffee chain’s North American same-store sales in the first, second and third quarters of fiscal year 2026 have grown 4%, 7.1% and 8.1%, respectively.

The closing of 250 stores is helping Starbucks right its ship, Felhandler wrote in his analyst’s note Friday.

"We think Starbucks is judiciously repositioning its assets to boost the health of its footprint and ensure a consistent experience. We posit closed-store sales aren't entirely lost, as many consumers shift to nearby stores, attributable to about half of the last quarter's comparable sales growth," he said.