Two unionized Starbucks locations near the University of Arizona are set to close permanently, with their last day of service on Saturday, leaving employees with little notice.

The affected stores include the cafe at East University Boulevard and East Euclid Avenue, Tucson’s first unionized Starbucks, and the pickup-only location on East Speedway Boulevard and North Park Avenue, which unionized last July.

“The Starbucks app will be updated by Sunday with up-to-date hours of operation, including closures,” a Starbucks spokesperson who asked not be be named said when asked for comment about the closure.

The same spokesperson said that the company does not consider a store's unionized status when deciding whether or not to close locations.

Starbucks Workers United, the coffee chain’s union, did not immediately respond to requests for comment but mentioned the closures on its Instagram page.

“Losing locations, especially unionized locations, will not solve Starbucks’ problems,” the post said. “(The University and Euclid location) has the highest customer survey score. This is blatant-union busting tactics.”

The University and Euclid store unionized in 2022. Several other Tucson stores are set to close this weekend, including the following locations:

• 130 East Congress Street
• 3700 South Sixth Avenue
• 2350 North Campbell Avenue
• 4202 East 22nd Street
• 6960 East 22nd Street

The closures follow a statement Thursday from Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol regarding the closing of several stores nationwide.

In August, the company said it would close all pickup-only locations by 2026, but at the time did not mention the planned shutdown of other standalone stores.

“This decision came down from corporate with zero advance notice. Our immediate higher-ups delivering this news only found out (Wednesday) night,” said a barista at one of the locations who asked to remain anonymous. “It feels really unfair. As someone who's been with the company for a good amount of time, it feels (bad) to be treated this way, but at the same time, it's unfortunately not surprising.”

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a freelance journalist based in Tucson. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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