Starbucks Leads the Way in NYC Closures as Chain Stores Scale Back

The number of chain stores in New York City has declined for the sixth time in the past eight years, according to the Center for an Urban Future’s (CUF) annual “State of the Chains” report released this week.

Overall, chain stores’ presence in Gotham decreased by 1.3 percent — or 112 locations — since this period last year, driven largely by large retail chains re-evaluating their locations and shrinking their footprints, the report from the public policy think tank found.

Starbucks led the way in that regard. The Seattle-based coffee giant has closed 42 stores in New York City since December 2024, largely as part of its $1 billion restructuring plan called “Back to Starbucks.” The plan, announced in late September, consists of closing more than 400 stores and laying off approximately 900 “non-retail” employees.

Starbucks’ 42 closed stores were part of 92 stores closed from seven of the city’s 10 largest retailers that reduced their footprint over the past year. Retailers with store declines of at least 7 percent in New York City this year included costume jewelry retailer Claire’s, office supply company Staples, stationary and gift retailer Paper Source, and apparel retailers Old Navy and Banana Republic, among others.

In addition, 18 retailers closed all of their New York City locations this year — more than any other year except for 2020, when more than two dozen retailers were forced to shutter their stores due to the pandemic, according to the report. Drugstore chain Rite Aid shuttered all 46 of its spots in the city, while party supply company Party City closed 11 and clothing retailer Forever 21 closed six.

Plus, the number of retailers having at least 200 stores in the city has declined, down from eight in 2019 to just four this year. The number of chains with 100 or more locations has also declined from 15 in 2019 to 12 this year, according to CUF.

But it wasn’t all downhill for chain stores in New York City this year. For the 18th year in a row, Dunkin’ was the retailer with the most stores in the city at 623, and the top retailer in every borough, the report found. 

Manhattan had the highest number of chain stores in 2025 at 3,299 locations, followed by Queens with 1,811, Brooklyn with 1,803, the Bronx with 915 and Staten Island with 486, according to the report.

The city’s 10 largest retailers are Dunkin’, Starbucks, Metro by T-Mobile, Subway, McDonald’s, Duane Reade, Baskin-Robbins, Popeyes, CVS and T-Mobile, CUF found. It was not clear why the two T-Mobile chains were counted separately.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.