Astor Place Starbucks closes after nearly 30 years in business

NEW YORK - After nearly three decades in business, the beloved Astor Place Starbucks in Greenwich Village has closed its doors for good.

Opened in 1995, the store brewed its last beans on Sunday.

FOX 5 NY spoke to New Yorkers in the neighborhood who said the closure had left them "shocked," while others said good riddance, criticizing the company for its efforts to resist employees unionizing.

Some experts say that the driving force behind the closure may have been a topic New Yorkers are all too familiar with: sky-high rent prices.

"Right now we're coming toe to toe with how much people are willing to be extorted in rent, whether it's residential or commercial," said Frances Katzen with the Katzen Team at Douglas Elliman.  "These inflated super-high rents is sort of like the landlords are looking for these bigger companies to subsidize what they're not getting from their standard vendors in this location and I think they've reached their limit."  

Starbucks did not confirm the closure was a result of a rent hike, but a spokesperson provided fox5 with a statement, saying quote:

"We're honored that our Astor Place store has been a part of the East Village community for almost 30 years. We take pride in the place Starbucks holds in the hearts of both our customers and our partners (employees). Effective July 29, 2024 our Lafayette & 8th St store, also known as Astor Place, in Manhattan will close permanently. We do not take the decision to close stores lightly. Our relationship with our customers is deeply personal, and we are honored to have been their Third Place."

In a statement to FOX 5 NY, a spokesperson for the landlord, ASG Equities, said: "ASG is appreciative of Starbucks’ decades-long tenancy at 21 Astor.  We are sad they chose to leave, even as we offered a lease extension that would have allowed them to remain in their existing space at the exact same rent. This corner on top of the Astor Place subway has extensive glass frontage, tremendous signage, and incredible foot traffic. We are quite confident that this space will be of interest to a wide range of community-oriented retailers."