Starbucks says afternoon traffic is rising as menu changes draw customers

After the breakfast rush, the new Starbucks in Renton, Washington, starts to feel like a different store. The regulars and seniors who fill the morning give way to students, parents and laptop users, and the pace shifts from quick turnarounds to longer stays, more conversation and a steadier trickle of orders into the early evening.

Starbucks says that change is showing up in its U.S. traffic data. The company said the biggest afternoon gains came between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., based on internal data from Feb. 15 to May 16, 2026, and that visits are continuing after 2 p.m. into the evening. The company is crediting part of that lift to menu changes, especially Energy Refreshers, which it introduced nationwide on April 7.

Energy Refreshers add extra caffeine from nature and B vitamins, and Starbucks says Refreshers are now one of its top-selling beverage platforms, second only to espresso. Food is part of the push, too. Starbucks has been leaning on new items such as the Chicken Caesar Wrap and Sesame Ginger Chicken Wrap to pull customers into the later part of the day, when the store is less about the morning commute and more about lingering, snacking and working.

That afternoon shift has real consequences for the floor. The work changes from pushing volume through the bar to managing a room where people stay put, ask for more connection and expect the store to feel calm even when traffic is healthy. Seating, power outlets, cleanup timing and handoff quality matter more when Starbucks is acting like a meeting place or an office, not just a coffee stop. In Renton, Linda Dahlstrom, only a few days into the role, is still learning the team, the regulars and the rhythm of the space.

The store-level story fits into Brian Niccol’s broader Back to Starbucks turnaround, which the company has been promoting through its 2026 Investor Day. Starbucks has said it plans to renovate 1,000 cafes by the end of 2026, a sign that it wants stores to support longer dwell time as much as faster throughput. That investment comes alongside a harder reset elsewhere: in 2025, Starbucks announced a $1 billion restructuring plan that included closing some North American stores and laying off about 900 workers. For partners on the floor, the afternoon rush may be softer than the morning, but it is becoming just as important to how the job is paced, staffed and judged.