Being the most popular coffee shop in America, Starbucks has held its prominence in the country since its opening in 1971. Known for its reliable locations and large menus, there has hardly been any competition for this business in the coffee industry. However, as of recently, we have noticed a decline in this brand. Not only has the location in Lancaster city closed, but their menu has vastly shrunk. Overall, we feel like Starbucks just isn’t what it used to be.

In the beginning of 2025, Starbucks had announced that they will be closing about 1% of their stores in North America, which equals to approximately 400 stores. Along with the closed stores, a total of 900 employees will be laid off. CEO Brian Niccol said that the closing stores were simply not making enough money or just weren’t what they were expected to be. This means that they weren’t popular locations and weren’t bringing in as many customers. This is a change for Starbuck, as the company is known for having a lot of locations around the world. While it is said they will still be working on opening new stores in the future, the fact that the company is shrinking right now makes the future of Starbucks unclear. For us, this was extremely surprising at first. As regulars at Starbucks, we never would have thought Starbucks would come to a point where they would need to close stores. We always think of it as an amazing place to get work done or even just for a quick coffee hangout.

At the beginning of the year, Starbucks began offering free coffee refills and reusable mugs to anyone stopping by for a drink. Cream and sweeteners are also now back to being a self-serve option for customers after going away during the pandemic. By the end of 2025, Starbucks is planning to cut down 30% of food and drinks options from their menu. While their menu is becoming smaller, and it is always a good idea to get rid of unsuccessful or unwanted products, Starbucks cutting down their menu to that extent makes us wonder how well the company is really doing. These attempts to revamp the stores, including bringing back their old ways, is said to be a way to cope with their loss of customers in the U.S. and essentially bring those customers back by giving away free products and such. Although Starbucks is clearly making efforts to keep their stores going, giving away mugs and allowing for unlimited use of sweeteners and cream just doesn’t seem like a convincing idea to us. Especially seeing as the only way to get free refills is to stay inside while you have your drink, which defeats the purpose of the business model of Starbucks which is to quickly grab a coffee and go.

Starbucks has even made the working conditions for employees worse due to the new initiative set by the recently hired CEO. A new rule was set in place requiring all employees to write a positive message on the disposable drink cups. This is meant to make Starbucks seem more like a local coffee shop, giving off a welcoming atmosphere. However, critics feel like this rule is performative because Starbucks is indisputably a massive corporation. Many employees have voiced that they think this rule is unnecessary as well, since it can be inconvenient to do when in a rush. Additionally, corporate employees who work from home had to return back to office due to a new mandate under this initiative, which caused backlash from the employees. This is because they were previously hired to be online, which suited their schedules well. Now they must return, which inconveniences them. Also under this initiative, workers have been required to dress in all black instead of their previous flexible dress code. A survey was conducted after this “Return to Starbucks” policy, where 93% of employees feel this new policy has worsened the customer experience, and has led to being understaffed with more stress. Along with that, Starbucks’ sales have been down 4% worldwide, marking the fourth quarter of declines in a row for the company.

All of these factors are stressing Starbucks’ future, and we believe that while the CEO is making efforts, the new “Back to Starbucks” initiative isn’t working. This might be the case for a lot of people, as Starbucks is undeniably a common favorite coffee shop among people, but we are sad to see one of our personal favorite coffee brands be in a declining state.