Starbucks announced plans to close roughly 1% of its North American shops in a message to employees on Thursday, Sept. 25. Some Iowa locations appear to be targeted for closure.
The message did not include a list of stores set to close. However, it stated in its most recent quarterly earnings release that Starbucks will have approximately 18,300 coffee shops by the end of its fiscal year, which closes this month. This means it will have about 430 fewer locations in the United States and Canada than it did as of June 29.
The company will also eliminate “approximately 900 current non-retail partner roles and close many open positions.”
Starbucks said in an email to USA TODAY on Friday, Sept. 26, that the company’s app will be updated to reflect the closures on Sunday, Sept. 29. However, a public Google sheet has more than 500 entries marking likely closures as of Friday morning, with two Iowa locations on the list.
Store pages for the locations listed in the sheet and on the thread reviewed by USA TODAY indicate that the stores will be closed starting Sunday, but the company would not confirm that those locations are closing, instead pointing to the app update.
Here’s what you need to know.
What Iowa Starbucks locations are closing?
Two Iowa Starbucks locations are listed on the public Google Sheet. They are:
Both stores are listed as “closed” on the Starbucks app starting Sunday, Sept. 29.
The Starbucks location at 5560 Merle Hay Road in Johnston is also listed as “closed” starting Sunday, but is not on the Google sheet.
A review of other Ames, Des Moines and Iowa City stores did not show any other locations with modified hours.
Starbucks did not confirm any of the closures.
Starbucks previously announced it would close 80 to 90 Starbucks “Pick Up” stores in more than 20 states. Those locations were “exclusively designed for mobile orders and quick pick up without the wait,” the company said at the time. No Iowa locations were included in that round of closures.
The closure of the “Pick Up” stores and the 1% closure in stores in North America are part of the “Back to Starbucks” strategy, instituted by Brian Niccol, the former Chipotle CEO who left to become Starbucks’ chief executive in September 2024.
USA TODAY reporters James Powel and Mike Snider contributed to this report.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Starbucks is closing hundreds of locations. Which 3 Iowa stores may close?
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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