Say au revoir to the Starbucks La Boulange cafes
Sad news for fans of the La Boulange cafes, the Starbucks-owned bakeries are closing down. Don’t worry, this won’t have an impact on the La Boulange pastries currently found in the display cases at your nearest Starbucks, but you will no longer be able to spend a day sitting outside at one the charming La Boulange-specific locations. Come September, they’ll be all gone.
In total, there are 23 La Boulange locations and they’re all closing, mostly in the San Francisco area where the bakery chain is very popular. In a statement on their website, Starbucks cited that keeping the locations open wasn’t, “sustainable for the company’s long-term growth,” and that they’re looking to focus more on in-house food products, and consequently, keeping the La Boulanges open just didn’t make sense anymore.
We repeat: Even though the La Boulange store fronts will be gone, this does not mean their pastries will be leaving Starbucks cases. Starbucks still plans to use their products and name, explaining that La Boulange will still “continue to play a significant role in the future of Starbucks,” just now without actual sit-down locations.
Starbucks purchased the bakery chain back in 2012 after consumer complaints about the case selections in Starbucks stores. It was really only this past year that we saw new pastries (handed to us in adorable pink bags) pop up in stores, and yes, that was a welcomed change — listen, I can only eat so many Asiago bagels before I go crazy.
So while their raspberry-swirl loaves and caramel squares remain, come September the La Boulange stores will be no more. Here’s a grande frapp toast to you, La Boulange. Gone, but not forgotten.
