Starbucks Tries To Recapture Local Coffeehouse Vibe By Cutting 30% Of Its Menu – CoffeeTalk

Starbucks plans to cut about 30% of its menu by late 2025 as part of its plan to change its vibe and stem the loss of customers across U.S. stores. The chain has also introduced ceramic mugs, free coffee and tea refills, and a condiment bar that had gone away during the pandemic. Starbucks sales dipped 4% in the U.S. and worldwide in the latest quarter, marking the fourth quarter of declines in a row.

New CEO Brian Niccol has dubbed his plan “Back to Starbucks,” pledging to return the chain to its roots as a local coffee house. He has stopped charging extra for non-dairy milks in drinks, reinstated its policy to allow bathroom use only for paying customers, and reintroduced its policy to allow bathroom use only for paying customers.

Niccol has called the current menu overwhelming for both customers and baristas, but he believes a slimmer selection would leave space for Starbucks to respond to cultural moments and input from baristas. The company is pushing for most stores to deliver a drink order within 4 minutes, a plan that includes more and faster machines, improved mobile ordering, and digital menu screens.

However, the chain remains at loggerheads with its unionized workers. Baristas have organized at more than 500 Starbucks stores since late 2021 but have not been able to reach a collective-bargaining agreement with the company. By March, Niccol has said he plans to announce layoffs of some corporate staff and has recently brought several former executives from Taco Bell, where Niccol had also been CEO in the past.

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