{"id":625653,"date":"2026-06-07T08:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T08:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/625653\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T08:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T08:16:19","slug":"coffee-chain-that-closed-1000-stores-plans-comeback-to-rival-starbucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/625653\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee chain that closed 1,000 stores plans comeback to rival Starbucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Closeup<\/p>\n

The store operates fewer than 200 locations now (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

A major coffee chain that dramatically scaled back its footprint after years of closures is plotting a comeback as it looks to challenge rivals, including Starbucks.<\/p>\n

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which once operated more than 1,100 caf\u00e9s worldwide, has spent the past decade shrinking its presence across the United States amid changing consumer habits, rising costs and the fallout from the Covid<\/a> pandemic.<\/p>\n

Despite the retrenchment, the company is now pushing ahead with plans to grow the brand through new locations, menu innovations and customer loyalty initiatives.<\/p>\n

Founded in Southern California in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf grew into one of the world’s largest coffee and tea chains, building a presence across the US, Asia and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

However, the company has steadily reduced its domestic footprint in recent years.<\/p>\n

The chain exited Manhattan in 2016 when all 12 of its New York locations closed, while dozens more stores disappeared during and after the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Today, the company operates 192 locations across 12 US states, with most remaining caf\u00e9s concentrated in California.<\/p>\n

But while its traditional high street footprint has shrunk, the company is betting on a different strategy for future growth.<\/p>\n

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf expects around 80% of its future locations to operate in non-traditional settings such as airports, hospitals and university campuses.<\/p>\n

The company has also launched a revamped loyalty programme and expanded its retail offering, including coffee capsules compatible with Nespresso machines.<\/p>\n

Most recently, it unveiled a new range of premium espresso drinks under its “Perfect Americano” menu, while rolling out a series of promotional offers aimed at attracting value-conscious customers.<\/p>\n

The turnaround effort comes as competition intensifies across the coffee sector, with chains battling for customers amid rising living costs and changing consumer habits.<\/p>\n

Despite challenges in the US market, parent company Jollibee Food Corporation said The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf recorded 10.7% year-on-year systemwide sales growth during the first quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

The brand is also continuing to expand internationally, with most new locations opening across Asia.<\/p>\n

The contrast highlights the chain’s changing strategy: fewer traditional caf\u00e9s, but a renewed push for growth through new formats, new products and expansion in key markets.<\/p>\n

After years of closures and market exits, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is now betting that its reinvention can help it compete once again with coffee giants such as Starbucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The store operates fewer than 200 locations now (Image: Getty) A major coffee chain that dramatically scaled back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,1126,212151,212150,45301,212149,212148,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-625653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-high-street","tag-menu-innovations","tag-non-traditional-locations","tag-starbucks","tag-starbucks-rivalry","tag-the-coffee-bean-tea-leaf","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}