K. wrote: “Are we losing this Starbucks? Or is this just a remodel?” and included these shots of the Starbucks on West Broadway and Leonard all papered up. And when I checked the company’s website on Friday, the location was no longer on their online maps.

I tried the press office — no go after two attempts in five days.

But A. just sent a note that they renovated: “They did a very quick refresh and I have to say it’s a slight difference in look, but overall makes it feels more chic and modern,” she reported. “They added a drapery to the windows. They changed the color of the wood on the inside. (I meant to take a picture of it on my run this morning, but I totally forgot about it cause I stepped in dog shit and then I was filled with rage.)”

There has been a retraction of Starbucks in the neighborhood: the West Street location closed in September; the location at Greenwich and Franklin closed the week before that. West Street opened in January 2024, just before the Greenwich location. Back then — a year and a half ago — the company was gunning for more outlets: the goal was to add 17,000 locations by 2030 to reach 55,000 globally. (The company was founded in 1971 in Seattle, and by the time it went public in 1992, it had 165 stores. By 1996 there were a 1000 stores, including some in Japan Now there are about 36,000 stores globally, and about 350 in the city. The first one here, on 87th and Broadway, opened in 1994.)

But as of this fall, Starbucks announced that it is closing 1 percent of stores. In the past year we have lost two others: the one inside 32 Avenue of the Americas at Sixth and Walker, and the one on Broadway and Reade.