Starbucks has introduced a smaller café prototype to expand in areas with high real-estate costs, particularly major cities. One location is already open in San Antonio. Its compact “folded bar” layout is designed to fit narrower spaces while still providing customer seating. The initiative supports the company’s effort to recapture its identity as a “third place” for connection.
Starbucks aims to open approximately 5,000 new locations in the coming years. The company is incorporating lessons from more than 1,000 remodeled stores into the new design. The strategy follows a recent turnaround in U.S. same-store sales, and Starbucks aims to build on that momentum.