Downtown Vancouver Starbucks locations close as chain plans 250 closures across Canada and the U.S.

The Story

Starbucks has begun closing some locations in the downtown Vancouver area after announcing last week that it would permanently shut about 250 stores across Canada and the United States as part of restructuring changes valued at roughly US$300 million.

One of the first confirmed closures in downtown Vancouver is the Starbucks near Seymour and Nelson at 960 Seymour St., where a notice posted on the door says the company “made the very difficult decision to close this Starbucks location” and includes a QR code for customers to scan for other stores.

In Yaletown, a location at 125 Davie St., near Marinaside Crescent and close to Urban Fare, is also listed as permanently closed.

A third downtown site affected is at 891 Dunsmuir St., on the corner of the block near Hornby Street, across from Brandi’s Show Lounge, which is also described as closed.

The closure notices posted at least at the Seymour and Nelson location acknowledge the impact on customers, describing the store as “your coffee house,” where “memories were made” and “meaningful connections” with partners developed.

Starbucks’ door notice also directs customers to consider other options, saying the company is “working closely to support our partners through this transition,” and ends by providing a QR code to find alternative locations.

Across North America, the closures represent about one per cent of Starbucks’ roughly 18,000 locations, according to the details provided alongside the local closure information.

While shutting hundreds of stores, Starbucks has also continued expanding recently, including openings mentioned for Parq Vancouver, which opened this spring, and a location opened last spring at Canada Place.

Looking beyond closures, Starbucks Canada has “coffeehouse uplifts” underway at several Metro Vancouver locations, including stores at Scott and 72nd in Surrey, Royal Square in New Westminster, and Westgate Centre in Maple Ridge.

Those upgrades are described as currently underway and expected to run through 2027, indicating that the company’s restructuring impacts both closures in some areas and renovations or enhancements in others across the broader region.