Starbucks has been on a journey to revitalize its business amid declining sales and shrinking foot traffic in recent years. Its latest strategy is centered on returning to its roots, with a renewed focus on personalizing the coffee shop experience in-store and through its products.
The coffee giant has enacted significant changes to improve customers’ overall experience, including streamlining operations, simplifying its menu, empowering its baristas, redesigning stores, and fostering community connections.
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These efforts come as consumers become more conscious of their spending habits due to economic uncertainty, which is impacting sales across the food and beverage industry.
Meanwhile, competition in the coffee space has intensified. New players are crowding the market as consumer preferences evolve rapidly, forcing businesses to adapt or risk losing market share. Although Starbucks remains dominant, chains like Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) , Dutch Bros (BROS) , Scooter’s Coffee, and 7 Brew Coffee have been gaining traction, seeing faster traffic growth.
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In May, Starbucks announced plans to remodel 1,000 locations by next year with a new store design. This new model features a cozier ambiance, warm lighting, communal wooden tables, and strategic seating arrangements to encourage guests’ interactions and benefit remote workers.
As part of its “Back to Starbucks” initiative, the company is also closing all its pickup-only stores, reflecting its renewed focus on the full café experience and in-person customer connection.
However, Starbucks (SBUX) isn’t the only chain undergoing a major transformation amid difficulties.
Corner Bakery Café eyes comeback with store revamps and Southern expansion
Two years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Corner Bakery Café, a longtime player in the industry, is also rolling out its own turnaround plan.
This strategy is centered around a redesigned store model featuring a smaller footprint, modern design, and a minimalistic aesthetic that fosters community and connection.
This refreshed concept is geared toward suburban neighborhoods and better positions the brand to grow in key high-growth markets across the South, including Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, as it aims for expansion.
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“We want our communities to know we’re here to stay, and our loyal guests deserve cafés that look and feel special,” said Corner Bakery Cafe CEO Chris Dharod in a press release. “These renovations and enhancements reflect our commitment to elevating the Corner Bakery experience.”
Corner Bakery Café quietly tested the new design by remodeling seven California locations between October 2024 and May 2025. Most recently, it opened a newly designed café in Irvine, California, in June.
The chain currently operates around 100 restaurants across 17 states.
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Corner Bakery Café emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy
This major store rebrand comes two years after the Corner Bakery Café filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, listing $10 million to $50 million in assets and liabilities.
Roark Capital had previously owned the chain until it was sold to Pandya Restaurant Growth Brands in 2020. Since then, Corner Bakery Café has struggled with inflation, rising costs, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and landlord disputes, all factors that led to a credit default in 2022.
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Founded in Chicago in 1991 and franchising in 2017, Corner Bakery Café is a Dallas-based fast-casual chain best known for its bakery items and coffee. At the time of the filing, the chain operated 140 locations across 19 states.
The brand now hopes that this rebrand and targeted growth strategy will help it reclaim its place in the competitive café space and regain the market share it lost to competitors over the years.
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