Starbucks pursuing massive Nashville office as Seattle footprint shrinks

Starbucks is accelerating plans to open a major corporate hub in Nashville, Tennessee, with the coffee giant now searching for office space that could become one of the city’s largest leasing deals in years.

The Seattle-based company is reportedly seeking roughly 250,000 square feet of office space for the new hub, according to CoStar. If completed at that scale, the deal would significantly boost Nashville’s office market, while shrinking the company’s footprint in Seattle.

Starbucks is reportedly working with commercial real estate firm CBRE to identify potential locations, and one property under consideration is the Peabody Union complex in downtown Nashville, a nearly 300,000-square-foot office building that was completed last year but has not yet secured a major tenant. The space on Peabody St. is large enough that Starbucks could potentially occupy the entire building.

No final lease has been signed, and the company has not publicly confirmed a specific site, but last week it was revealed that Starbucks has already paid out the remainder of its lease on one Seattle-area office location and vacated the space in preparation for the Nashville move.

Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams previously said the company sees Nashville as a strategic location as it expands across North America. “Starbucks has great ambitions to grow even further across North America, and with these growth plans, we see Nashville, Tennessee, as an ideal location to open an office and establish a more strategic presence in the Southeast region of the US,” Grams said. “The city offers a deep, talented, and growing workforce, making it a desirable location for us.”

If the company secures a space of that size, the office could potentially house more than 2,000 employees. Commercial real estate planners typically estimate about 125 square feet per worker when calculating office capacity. Starbucks’ internal requirements may be even higher because the company requires many corporate employees to work in the office five days per week, unlike many tech firms that have shifted toward hybrid schedules.

The Nashville expansion comes amid broader changes to Starbucks’ footprint in its hometown of Seattle. The company has recently announced multiple store closures in Seattle, including five locations set to shut down in early April. Several of those locations are unionized stores, and many are in high-traffic areas such as corridors near the Space Needle, major employers, and hospitals.

Starbucks has also reduced its corporate workforce. In October 2025, the company announced roughly 1,100 layoffs globally, including more than 900 positions in the Seattle region, as part of a restructuring effort aimed at streamlining operations.

Seattle has also been the center of an ongoing labor conflict between Starbucks and union organizers. Workers staged strikes during the company’s high-profile Red Cup Day promotions in November 2025, demanding higher wages and a collective bargaining agreement. Protesters later established an encampment outside Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters, drawing support from progressive politicians including Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The corporate expansion outside Washington also comes as the state faces growing political debate over taxes and the business climate. Earlier this month, the Washington State House approved a new 9.9 percent tax on income above $1 million following more than 24 hours of floor debate. Supporters describe the policy as a “millionaire’s tax,” while critics argue it establishes the framework for a broader state income tax.

The same day the legislation passed, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz announced he was leaving Seattle and relocating to Florida after more than four decades in the city. Schultz did not reference the tax legislation directly in his statement, but the timing fueled criticism from opponents who warned the new tax could accelerate capital flight from Washington, pushing wealthy residents and companies toward lower-tax states such as Florida and Tennessee.