After three years, Starbucks Corp. is closing its three Princi Italian bakery bars. The New York bakery bar never reopened after government restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown in March 2020. The other two locations in Chicago and Seattle are scheduled to close September 3.

A spokesperson confirmed that Starbucks will continue to serve Princi’s bread, pastries, pizzas and sandwiches at its Roasteries in Chicago, New York, Seattle, Shanghai, Milan and Tokyo.

Starbucks in July 2016 became an investor and global licensee of Princi, a high-end Italian bakery-cafe founded by Rocco Princi in 1986. In the fall of 2017, the company opened the first Princi location in the United States inside the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle, where artisanal baked foods are served alongside Starbucks Reserve coffees. Starbucks made Princi the exclusive food purveyor in its Roasteries and Starbucks Reserve store locations, a relationship that is expected to continue.