Starbucks has developed a 4,624-square-foot office space located in Newport Beach, California, conveniently situated just a five-minute drive from the residence of CEO Brian Niccol in Orange County.

As reported by Business Insider, the office, positioned on the 13th floor, was finalized on July 2 and crafted by Gensler, a prestigious architectural firm known for designing notable structures such as the Chase Center in San Francisco and the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China.

The floor plan reviewed by BI revealed instructions for Gensler and Pacific Tusk Builders, the contracted team, to construct a space featuring “luxury” elements like “white oak” flooring and tailored countertops, along with “elegant lighting” options.

The announcement of the office first appeared in an August 2024 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which detailed Niccol’s compensation package. This filing mentioned Starbucks’ plans to create a “small remote office” in Newport Beach and include an “assistant” hired at Niccol’s discretion.

“This office location will be maintained at the expense of the company,” the filing reads.

Starbucks informed BI that the new office will be accessible to other employees, but did not specify how many will work there, the duration of the construction, or the total expenses incurred by Starbucks for the project.

As part of Niccol’s compensation package, Starbucks granted him a base salary of $1.6 million, a $10 million signing bonus, and a $75 million equity grant to be disbursed over a three-year period.

^{Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images}

Niccol had previously been commuting at the company’s expense, flying 995 miles on the company’s private jet from his home in California to company headquarters in Seattle, Washington, to work from the office at least three times a week as part of the company’s return-to-office mandate.

Earlier this month, Niccol sent a letter to employees stating that corporate staff will be required to return to the office four days a week starting in October, an increase from the three-day schedule set in 2023. He wrote that employees do their “best work” when they are together.

Employees can choose to receive a cash buyout of an undisclosed amount if they prefer to leave the company instead of working in the office.

“The default for support partners should be working in person, in a Starbucks office,” Niccol wrote in the letter. “We understand not everyone will agree with this approach.”

Niccol became Starbucks CEO in September after leading Chipotle for six years as CEO. Under his leadership, Starbucks has tried to turn around slumping sales with a “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan that has resulted in cuts to its menu, less wait time for coffee, and customers’ names written on cups in Sharpie.

On Tuesday, Starbucks also reported financial results for its 13-week fiscal quarter ending June 29. Global store sales dropped 2%, with North American store sales also falling by 2%, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of declining sales. Net revenue, however, increased 4% to $9.5 billion when compared to the same time last year.

The earnings report also mentioned that Starbucks opened 308 net stores in the quarter, for a total of 41,097 global stores.

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