CHICAGO — Starbucks is closing hundreds of stores across the United States, including locations in Chicago.
The coffee behemoth announced this week it is closing about 1 percent of its stores in North America and laying off about 900 corporate employees as part of a restructuring plan, according to CNN. Some of the impacted locations are in Chicago, although a Starbucks spokesperson on Friday declined to provide a list of which ones are closing.
Among the confirmed closures is the Starbucks at 1588 N. Milwaukee Ave. at the busy North/Milwaukee/Damen intersection in Wicker Park, according to a notice on its door. Starbucks revamped the store in 2017 into a Starbucks Reserve location.
“We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close this Starbucks location by the end of the week,” according to the notice. “We know many of you will be thinking of your favorite partner, and we’re working closely to support our partners through this transition.”
A barista at the Wicker Park location confirmed the store’s last day is Saturday.
The Starbucks locations at 1599 N. Clybourn Ave. in Lincoln Park and 1174 E. 55th St. in Hyde Park are also closing for good Saturday, employees said. All Starbucks locations and future hours are on the company’s website.
In a message to employees issued Thursday, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the closures are part of a plan to revitalize the brand in what he called a “turnaround journey” following a company-wide review this year.
“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,” Niccol wrote.
Niccol is overseeing a plan to “introduce greater texture, warmth and layered design” to more than 1,000 Starbucks stores over the next year, according to the message.
Some baristas at the closing stores will be offered transfers to nearby locations, while others will be laid off.
The closure news comes amid an ongoing unionization effort among Starbucks baristas at hundreds of stores across the country, with employees organizing for better wages and job protections, among other measures.
In social media posts this week, the Starbucks union sharply criticized the closure plan. A pre-planned rally of Starbucks workers was held Thursday outside a store in Edgewater, according to the Sun-Times.
That location at 5964 N. Ridge Ave. is also slated to close.
In an email Friday, Starbucks spokesperson Sam Jefferies said “represented (unionized) status is not a factor when we consider whether to close a store.”
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