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Forced to withdraw?! Chongqing's first Starbucks is about to close!

Published: 2026-01-16 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/01/16, ▲ Click to pay attention| Daily Boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Factory Recently, a Chongqing citizen posted on social platforms saying that the Starbucks store in Three Gorges Square, Shapingba District, Chongqing will officially close its business at the end of this month. It is reported that this Starbucks opened in February 2006 and is the first store in Chongqing City.

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Recently, some Chongqing residents posted on social platforms that the Starbucks store in the three Gorges Plaza in Shapingba District of Chongqing will officially close at the end of this month.

It is reported that the Starbucks, which opened in February 2006, is the first store in Chongqing and has been with local residents for 18 years. The poster recalled that the store experienced three refurbishment and expansion during its business, increasing from two floors to three floors and upgrading to a Starbucks selected store, witnessing some important moments in the lives of many fans.

After hearing the news, many netizens felt sorry for this, and the memories related to it could not help but emerge in front of my eyes, "remembering that I felt so foreign when I came to buy a cup of coffee from time to time in primary school", "I volunteered for the college entrance examination in this store", and "I was afraid to order a cup of caramel macchiato in high school with money."

Looking back on the past, some people in the comment area also explored the reasons for the closure of Starbucks' first store in Chongqing. It is understood that. The three Gorges Square, where the store is located, is one of the commercial centers of Shapingba District, bringing together many shopping malls, restaurants and places of entertainment, and because there are many sculptures and landscapes that reflect the culture of the three Gorges, so this square is also a unique local scenery.

However, due to various reasons such as urban development, the three Gorges Square, which was originally crowded with people, is no longer the glory of the past. In June this year, Wangfujing Department Store, which has been with the public for nearly 19 years, announced the closure of business in the square, which made countless citizens feel sorry and lamented that the business of merchants around the square had become increasingly deserted with the closure of Wangfujing department store.

Based on this, many people speculate that the closure of Starbucks may have something to do with the decline of the three Gorges Square and Shapingba business district. There are also comments in the comment area, saying that "the shopping mall needs to be rebuilt", resulting in the current business in the square have to withdraw in the near future.

The latter statement has also been confirmed after being verified by the snack generation. The snack agent posted that Starbucks had been contacted to learn that Starbucks' Shapingba store in Chongqing would close its business in the near future due to the overall withdrawal of the lessor. The brand said that in June this year, they had opened a new store in China Universe Square, about 100 meters from the store, to serve customers in the business circle together with three other stores nearby.

However, some netizens pointed out that at present, the traditional department store industry is experiencing a "trend of closing stores." large shopping malls and department store centers in many cities have been closed one after another, so that the flow of people in the business circle has plummeted, and all kinds of merchants opening them will more or less have an impact, and store business is not as good as it used to be.

Coupled with the excessively high store rent, peer competition in the business circle and other reasons, even if the store location is superior and accumulate a certain audience, some chain brands such as Starbucks and Manner will choose to close these stores with high operating costs but low profits after the expiration of the lease and readjust the market layout.

Therefore, although the brand admits that the reason for the store closure comes from the lessor, some people still think that Starbucks may also have taken into account the surrounding environmental changes, traffic is not as good as before and other factors, which caused a sensation when the opening of the first store in Chongqing closed.

Picture from: Xiao Hong Shu

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