diff --git a/xarray_beam/_src/zarr.py b/xarray_beam/_src/zarr.py
index 9a6e550..09b9018 100644
--- a/xarray_beam/_src/zarr.py
+++ b/xarray_beam/_src/zarr.py
@@ -13,27 +13,26 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 """IO with Zarr via Xarray."""
 from __future__ import annotations
+
 import collections
-import concurrent.futures
 import dataclasses
 import logging
 from typing import (
-    Any,
     AbstractSet,
+    Any,
     Dict,
-    Optional,
     Mapping,
+    MutableMapping,
+    Optional,
     Set,
     Tuple,
     Union,
-    MutableMapping,
 )
 
 import apache_beam as beam
 import dask
 import dask.array
 import xarray
-
 from xarray_beam._src import core
 from xarray_beam._src import rechunk
 from xarray_beam._src import threadmap
@@ -284,9 +283,6 @@ def validate_zarr_chunk(
     key: the Key corresponding to the position of the chunk to write in the
       template.
     chunk: the chunk to write.
-      by `xarray_beam.make_template`). One or more variables are expected to be
-      "chunked" with Dask, and will only have their metadata written to Zarr
-      without array values.
     template: a lazy xarray.Dataset already chunked using Dask (e.g., as created
       by `xarray_beam.make_template`). One or more variables are expected to be
       "chunked" with Dask, and will only have their metadata written to Zarr
@@ -383,8 +379,9 @@ def __init__(
       store: WritableStore,
       template: Union[xarray.Dataset, beam.pvalue.AsSingleton, None] = None,
       zarr_chunks: Optional[Mapping[str, int]] = None,
+      *,
       num_threads: Optional[int] = None,
-      setup_executor: Optional[concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor] = None,
+      needs_setup: bool = True,
   ):
     # pyformat: disable
     """Initialize ChunksToZarr.
@@ -415,24 +412,26 @@ def __init__(
         and makes it harder for Beam runners to shard work. Note that each
         variable in a Dataset is already written in parallel, so this is most
         useful for Datasets with a small number of variables.
-      setup_executor: an optional thread pool executor to use for setting up
-        the Zarr store when creating ChunksToZarr() objects in a non-blocking
-        fashion. Only used if template is provided as an xarray.Dataset. If not
-        provided, setup is performed eagerly.
+      needs_setup: if False, then the Zarr store is already setup and does not
+        need to be set up as part of this PTransform.
     """
     # pyformat: enable
     if isinstance(template, xarray.Dataset):
-      if setup_executor is not None:
-        setup_executor.submit(setup_zarr, template, store, zarr_chunks)
-      else:
+      if needs_setup:
         setup_zarr(template, store, zarr_chunks)
       if zarr_chunks is None:
         zarr_chunks = _infer_zarr_chunks(template)
       template = _make_template_from_chunked(template)
     elif isinstance(template, beam.pvalue.AsSingleton):
-      pass
+      if not needs_setup:
+        raise ValueError(
+            'setup required if template is a beam.pvalue.AsSingleton object'
+        )
+      # Setup happens later, in expand().
     elif template is None:
-      pass
+      if not needs_setup:
+        raise ValueError('setup required if template is not supplied')
+      # Setup happens later, in expand().
     else:
       raise TypeError(
           'template must be an None, an xarray.Dataset, or a '
@@ -458,7 +457,7 @@ def _write_chunk_to_zarr(self, key, chunk, template=None):
   def expand(self, pcoll):
     if isinstance(self.template, xarray.Dataset):
       template = self.template
-      setup_result = None  # already setup in __init__
+      setup_result = None  # already setup
     else:
       if isinstance(self.template, beam.pvalue.AsSingleton):
         template = self.template
diff --git a/xarray_beam/_src/zarr_test.py b/xarray_beam/_src/zarr_test.py
index c8e0dff..0936bed 100644
--- a/xarray_beam/_src/zarr_test.py
+++ b/xarray_beam/_src/zarr_test.py
@@ -11,12 +11,10 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
-"""Tests for xarray_beam._src.core."""
 import re
 
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
-from concurrent import futures
 import dask.array as da
 import numpy as np
 import xarray
@@ -124,11 +122,10 @@ def test_chunks_to_zarr(self):
       inputs | xbeam.ChunksToZarr(temp_dir, chunked)
       result = xarray.open_zarr(temp_dir, consolidated=True)
       xarray.testing.assert_identical(dataset, result)
-    with self.subTest('with template and setup_executor'):
+    with self.subTest('with template and needs_setup=False'):
       temp_dir = self.create_tempdir().full_path
-      with futures.ThreadPoolExecutor() as executor:
-        to_zarr = xbeam.ChunksToZarr(temp_dir, chunked, setup_executor=executor)
-      inputs | to_zarr
+      xbeam.setup_zarr(chunked, temp_dir)
+      inputs | xbeam.ChunksToZarr(temp_dir, chunked, needs_setup=False)
       result = xarray.open_zarr(temp_dir, consolidated=True)
       xarray.testing.assert_identical(dataset, result)
     with self.subTest('with zarr_chunks and with template'):