Starbucks is struggling — including in Montreal

Is Starbucks hanging up the green apron in Montreal?

The café chain that dominated Canada’s coffee market for decades shuttered more than 200 locations across North America in September 2025, according to its annual report. Eight of these closing were in Quebec.

Although only one of said closings was in Montreal, dozens of Starbucks locations have disappeared in the region over the last decade, raising questions about whether the company is on the decline in the metropolis.

“Montreal in particular is a tougher market for Starbucks than elsewhere,” said Robert Soroka, a professor at John Molson School of Business.

Starbucks does not publish data on specific store closings and did not return The Gazette’s request for comment. But a review of internet archives by The Gazette found at least 30 Starbucks locations in Greater Montreal have closed in the last 10 years, outpacing the opening of new locations. A handful of those shuttered locations had operated for less than five years.

Layoffs and closings were also widespread for the company in May 2021, when the company laid off employees at 16 Starbucks locations in Quebec amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soroka said because of the strong “European flavour” in Montreal’s coffee industry, “we will actually evaluate the quality,” pointing to Italian-style and third-wave coffee shops like Olimpico, Café Myriade, and Café Milano.

On the other side of the spectrum is fast-food coffee, like Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s, which are both cheaper than Starbucks.

“The Tim Hortons market would be perhaps a less discerning palate, the Myriade and Columbus a more discerning palate. And then you’ve got Starbucks. You’re still doing well, but they’re sort of in-between,” he said in an interview. “It’s becoming harder to distinguish yourself.”

Local coffee roasters will have a “fresher taste” and “a better quality product.” 

“People who want that know who makes (specialty coffee),” Soroka said. “Then you’ve got the ones who don’t do it right, like the Tim Hortons and McDonald’s. So where does Starbucks fit into this? Are they as good? Are they perceived as good as the specialty guys in Montreal, and can they compete effectively?”

He added Starbucks would not be closing stores if it didn’t have a problem. “Every organization has to do a rationalization to assess whether stores are underperforming or have reduction in traffic.”

While the company may be struggling against an oversaturated coffee shop market, Soroka said there is still demand for recognizable brand names.

“Concordia University, you have a couple of Starbucks within throwing distance. And they do very well, because you’re drawing from, from a wider range of people. And you know, there are Montrealers that like it, but there’s also people from outside who recognize the brand.”

Starbucks in Montreal is mainly concentrated downtown, where there are more than a dozen locations, but becomes more sparse in residential neighbourhoods where Soroka said specialty cafés thrive.

“If you go to, for example, the east end of Montreal, you’ll see a Starbucks, but you’ll see a lot more of the other kind,” closer to places like Café Milano, Olimpico, Myriade or Café Fame.

As Starbucks winds down in North America and the U.K., which lost 76 locations last fiscal year, the company is looking toward expansion in Asia and Latin America.

According to the company’s 2025 annual report, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines gained hundreds of locations, and Latin America gained more than 100 last year.

“The fact is, is that you’re seeing more and more Western influences in Asia. And it strikes me at, probably the right time,” Soroka said, pointing to the saturation levels in North America. “It’s only natural to be looking outward.”

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