Starbucks will close 13 Georgia stores, including 10 in metro Atlanta, the company announced Thursday.

The Seattle-based coffee chain on July 1 said it planned to shutter 600 underperforming company-owned stores nationwide by March 2009.

End dates weren't announced for Georgia stores, but closings were announced in other states this week.

A company news release said store employees will receive advance notice and more details before closings begin.

The closings are a turnabout from Starbucks' expansion effort, which blanketed major U.S. cities and suburbs with outlets. But traffic and profits for the chain have declined recently amid the economic slowdown, which has some consumers refraining from spending on pricey coffee as they tighten budgets.

Customer Harry Constantinescu said he stops in at the Starbucks outside the Georgia Aquarium almost every day, sometimes just for a to-go drink. Often, he holds meetings there for The Wine Loft, the bar he manages. He says he'll be conducting more business in the office now.

"Usually, there's nobody there," Constantinescu says of the Starbucks, which has no outdoor signage, parking or entrances that share a street with the Aquarium. "That's why I like it. This is more relaxed."

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GEORGIA CLOSINGS

> Vinings, 2941 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta

> Roswell Road at I-285, 5841 Roswell Road N.E., Atlanta

> Peachtree at 17th, 1375 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta

> Georgia Aquarium, 250 Park Ave. W., Atlanta

> East-West Connector & Powder Springs, 2860 E-W Connector, Austell

> Mall of Georgia II, 3333 Buford Drive, Buford

> U.S. 80 & Mall Road, 2011 Veterans Parkway, Dublin

> Pleasant Hill Plaza, 1630 Pleasant Hill Road N.W., Duluth

> Gwinnett Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth

> Veterans Memorial Parkway & Buckner Boulevard, Mableton

> East-West Connector & S. Cobb Drive, 4624 Camp Highland Road S.E., Smyrna

> Macon Mall, 3661 Eisenhower Parkway, Macon

> Bass Road & Starcadia Circle, 1693 Bass Road, Macon