Starbucks to bid au revoir to La Boulange cafes

La Boulange sells sweet treats and mini palmiers. La Boulange sells sweet treats and mini palmiers. Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Starbucks to bid au revoir to La Boulange cafes 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

La Boulange, the upscale chain of bakery cafes that serves high-end coffee in large bowls, will soon be saying adieu.

Stating that the bakery cafes “are not sustainable for the company’s long-term growth,” Starbucks announced it would close all 23 La Boulange stores in the Bay Area by the end of September.

Starbucks, which only three years ago paid a reported $100 million to acquire La Boulange and began offering La Boulange baked goods at Starbucks locations, said in a statement that it will continue to sell La Boulange products in Starbucks stores.

The Bay Area bakery cafe chain, founded by Pascal Rigo, is known for an ersatz-French ambiance with espresso coffee drinks served in large bowls instead of cups, fresh sourdough baguettes and such goodies as croissants covered in sliced almonds.

But last year, food insiders began to report that not enough Starbucks customers were embracing La Boulange items and that Starbucks did not want to operate a separate retail chain alongside its core coffee shops.

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The decision came as a shock to La Boulange customers who flocked to large new restaurants that opened at West Portal and the Inner Sunset.

“As a standard course of business, Starbucks continually evaluates all components of its business to confirm they are aligned with key priorities and strategies for growth, which includes the continued analysis of the store portfolio. Based on our ongoing evaluations, Starbucks has determined La Boulange stores are not sustainable for the company’s long-term growth,” the company statement said.

Starbucks will also close the Evolution Fresh store in San Francisco and will seek to offer jobs to existing La Boulange employees at Starbucks stores.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com