Photo by Eric McLean

By Susan Miele

Oct. 1, 2025: Local social media channels are abuzz this week with news of the closing of the Bronxville Starbucks. From Facebook to Reddit, comments range from shock to disappointment to opinions about better local places to get coffee.

“This particular location played an important role in our town’s daily life,” said one commenter on Reddit. “Many kids from our school hung out there and had coffee and snacks after school there.”

The official word is that the longstanding coffee empire that, for decades, has been dotting cities and suburbs nationwide, has been struggling. Often criticized historically for squeezing out local, independent coffee bars, Starbucks might be experiencing a reversal of its fortune. Could Bronxville’s expansion in the indie coffee scene have contributed to the chain’s decision to shutter its Park Place location?

In fact, the one-square-mile area that Bronxville occupies now features many places where coffee is sold, providing considerable competition to the chain. In addition to the longstanding existence of Slave to the Grind on Pondfield Road, in recent years, we’ve seen the arrival of Ovder on Kraft Avenue, the BXVL Coffeehouse on Parkway Road, and, most recently, Coffee Unique on Pondfield. These are in addition to the assorted local bakeries, bagel shops, and eateries that also serve coffee.

According to a statement from Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, the company has decided to close select locations for fiscal reasons, as part of its “Back to Starbucks plan.”

“We identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” the statement says. Employees affected by the closure are to be offered either the opportunity to transfer to another location, where possible, or a severance package.

The Bronxville closure is one of several hundred throughout the United States, and one of three in Westchester County. The other county locations that are closing are in the Wykagyl section of New Rochelle and in Chappaqua.

Starbucks has occupied the space at 29 Park Place since its opening in 1994. At a 1993 Bronxville Planning Board meeting, the board hedged on granting a variance to allow a proposed family Italian restaurant to open in that location for fear of insufficient parking in the village. Previously, the space was occupied by Botticelli Bridal Boutique and by Park Place Studio, both retailers.