In early September, just days after Brian Niccol had stepped into his role as the new chief executive officer at Starbucks, he published an open letter addressed to all the coffee chain’s partners, customers and stakeholders acknowledging two major truths about the brand: The first is that Starbucks, with its nearly 16,500 United States locations, is “woven into the fabric of people’s lives” and the communities they serve; the second is that, in its effort to grow and expand (and explore the limits of what a frappuccino cup can hold), Starbucks doesn’t quite feel like Starbucks anymore.

“There’s a shared sense that we have drifted from our core,” Niccol wrote. “We have an opportunity to make the store experience better for our partners and, in turn, for our customers.”

For anyone who has visited a Starbucks, especially a pick-up only location, recently, Niccol’s words likely ring true — and are certainly reflected by customers on social media. One post on X, formerly Twitter, from late October reads: “Starbucks going from a genuinely nice place to sit and read or hang out to a high octane, clamoring production warehouse for pickup and drive thru orders is one of the hardest hospitality fumbles of all time.”

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In his letter, Niccol said some customers still experience the magic of “connection and joy, and of course great coffee” at their US-based locations, but sometimes Starbucks isn’t delivering. “It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic,” he wrote. “These moments are opportunities for us to do better.”

He continued: “Today, I’m making a commitment: We’re getting back to Starbucks. We’re refocusing on what has........

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