The espresso rumor mill is difficult at work in Seattle. The topic of this specific tea get together? A possible relocation for one of many manufacturers most synonymous with town: Starbucks. The espresso chain is claimed to be eying workplace area in Nashville, Tennessee large enough to accommodate 2,000 staff amidst a recent spherical of layoffs and retailer closures.
As reported by The Seattle Instances, Starbucks had beforehand introduced it could transfer a few of its logistics operations to Nashville as a way of creating “a strategic presence within the Southeast area of the U.S.” On the time the relocation was mentioned to impression simply “dozens” of parents working on the Seattle HQ. However a brand new report suggests Starbucks is searching for one thing a little bit bigger. In line with actual property publication CoStar Information, the corporate is contemplating leasing a 250,000-square-foot workplace area in Nashville as properly.
The six-story workplace area is a part of a five-acre, 1.2 million-square-foot complicated that features a 27-floor resident tower, a plaza, and 50,000 sq. ft of eating and retail. Estimates put the workplace capability between 1,000 and a couple of,000 staff.
In line with The Seattle Instances, as of 2023 Starbucks had round 3,750 staff within the Seattle company workplace. In 2025 some 1,100 of those staff had been laid off amidst a flurry of retailer closures and restructuring. On the identical time, Starbucks renewed the lease of their Sodo neighborhood HQ, the place it has been since 1997. CEO Brian Niccol acknowledged after taking on in 2024 that relocating was “not on the listing of issues to do,” and Starbucks management has denied plans to shut the Seattle HQ as just lately as March 4th.
However the story appears to be evolving shortly. Additional complicating the matter is the timing, approaching the heels of the state of Washington passing what’s being known as a “millionaire’s tax,” which might apply a 9.9% earnings tax on a person’s annual earnings per yr exceeding $1 million. The cash, in accordance with the invoice, would go to fund schooling, healthcare, housing, and tax credit for working households.
Former Starbucks CEO and presidential flameout Howard Schultz has since introduced his transfer to Miami, buying a modest $44 million greenback penthouse on the Surf Membership, a 4 Seasons Non-public Residences handle in Surfside. In the meantime, The Seattle Instances notes that Tennessee is aggressively courting companies and providing “substantial tax incentives” for those who transfer into the state.
The rumor mill round this subject is now in heavy rotation throughout the Pacific Northwest, notably amongst espresso professionals and on boards just like the r/Seattle Reddit web page—a latest submit there on the seek for a Nashville facility had a whole lot of feedback as press time. It’s harking back to one other Seattle establishment’s relocation to center America. Again in 2008 the Seattle Supersonics basketball group moved to Oklahoma Metropolis and have become the Thunder, simply two years after none apart from Howard Schultz bought the group. However no less than they’re in talks of getting an NBA group again.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Community and a workers author primarily based in Dallas. Learn extra Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
