In a move to expand its footprint in urban areas, the Starbucks Corporation is advancing a plan to create smaller café spaces, while also returning to the sit-down configurations that contributed to the chain’s growth in the first place.
Dawn Clark, Starbucks design vice president, remarked to CNN Business that the new formats “are really stretching us to be more adaptable to different types of locations, different shapes, and different sizes.”
The changed space configurations are costing the company an estimated $1 billion as upwards of 1,000 locations have already undergone a new design, with the most recent prototype opening in San Antonio last month.
The move, notes the publication Fast Company, comes after months of study. With more than 41,000 locations, “Starbucks has a lot of real estate, and it’s rethought the footprint of its shops constantly in recent years.”
The new configurations feature shorter counters, and compact glass cases for pastries and other food items, along with dark green walls ornamented with wood accents.
The store renovations come as Starbucks is amid an even larger plan to build upwards of 400 new coffeehouses across the country in the next two years.
With its 2025 revenue of $37.1 billion, Starbucks last week rattled the national restaurant industry when the Financial Times reported that it was contemplating a purchase of the Chipotle Mexican Grill company, which currently has more than 4,000 locations.
On Monday, Starbucks denied it was pursuing any such deal, although reports indicate that the matter was at least initially considered. Financial analysts noted that had a merger occurred, the result would have been a restaurant entity generating upwards of $50 billion in annual sales.
October 13, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
