Enjoying a supersized latte and a bright pink macaron at one of San Francisco's many La Boulange locations will now be a thing of the past.
The Wall Street Journal reported last night that Starbucks plans to shutter all of its 23 Bay Area locations (15 of which are located in San Francisco) by September. The news comes as quite a shock for SF loyals, considering Starbucks bought the chain for $100 million only three years ago.
According to the statement released by the Seattle-born coffee chain: "Starbucks has determined La Boulange stores are not sustainable for the company’s long-term growth." This comes despite a reported 35 percent growth in the breakfast platform and a 16 percent growth in food sales for the chain overall.
La Boulange founder Pascal Rigo, who signed on with the coffee company as a Senior Vice President to guide the rollout of La Boulange's products, will leave the company "to continue his passion for food in San Francisco." As for current employees of the soon-to-shutter bakeries, Starbucks plans to assist in job relocation within its many coffee shops throughout the area.
Though La Boulange's brick-and-mortar locations will close, Starbucks will continue to carry La Boulange's food in house, noted Eater SF. In the meantime, there'll be quite a few vacant storefronts in SF come September.
