Starbucks has quietly opened six prototype coffeehouses built to squeeze into spaces a fraction the size of a typical store, with locations already running in San Antonio and Manhattan. The downsized cafes are the centerpiece of a broader growth push that could bring thousands of new Starbucks locations to American streets in the coming years, even as the company rethinks how — and how small — it builds.
So far, six locations of the smaller prototype are open, according to CNN, which reported that the San Antonio and Manhattan stores include the typical Starbucks lineup of drinks and seating despite being, in the outlet's words, “a fraction of the size of a usual location.” To make that work, Starbucks reworked its counter into what it calls a “folded bar” configuration designed to fit into narrower, often pricier real-estate footprints, the same report notes.
The compact format is part of a strategy Starbucks is testing as it looks to grow its footprint without the cost and space demands of a traditional store, according to WKRC. CEO Brian Niccol has said the smaller stores are designed to make Starbucks locations more inviting places for people to socialize again, per the same report.
Why Starbucks Is Thinking Smaller
The push toward compact cafes follows a retreat from an earlier experiment. Niccol shuttered Starbucks' mobile order-and-pickup-only stores in July 2025, calling them “overly transactional,” CNN reported. Not every one of those stores closed outright — some are instead being converted into traditional coffee shops, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
That same trade publication reported that a standalone prototype slated to open in 2026 is built with 32 seats, a drive-thru and roughly 30% lower construction costs than a standard store. Yahoo Finance has reported that Starbucks could build inline stores under 1,000 square feet.
A Bigger Footprint, Fueled by Smaller Stores
Despite the downsizing, Starbucks is thinking big: the company has plans to open about 5,000 new locations in the coming years, CNN reported, with about 30% of customers already using mobile ordering, the company says. Smaller-format stores require less capital, less land and shorter construction timelines than traditional cafes, making them a faster route to that expansion target, according to Yahoo Finance, which also reported that U.S. comparable-store sales rose 7.1% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026.
Restaurant Dive reported that in the year before its September 30, 2022, publication, Starbucks' smaller-format stores recorded about 15% more visitors per square meter than traditional cafes, even though those models run at roughly 20% the size of a standard store. That outlet also notes that Starbucks isn't alone in the shrinking trend — Dunkin', Au Bon Pain and Panera have each pursued smaller or to-go-focused formats of their own.
Starbucks also sees inadequate coverage in parts of the middle of the country. The company is also closing stores, according to the New York Times.
Could Cincinnati Get a Mini Starbucks?
Whether a new compact prototype is planned for the city remains unconfirmed.
