Food

Starbucks opens first outlet in Rome

15 Apr, 2022

Starbucks will be relying on Romans to embrace Frappuccino as they shop at Castel Romano.

The American multinational coffee chain Starbucks opened its first outlet in the greater Rome area, at the Castel Romano shopping mall to the south of the Italian capital.

The 200-sqm venue with indoor and outdoor seating was opened on Tuesday in partnership with Percassi, the sole licensee partner with Starbucks in Italy.

The outlet, which employs 25 people and offers its guests free wi-fi, is the 16th Starbucks to open in Italy, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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The opening comes a couple of years after the chain was due to launch near the Vatican in 2020, in the site of the former Maraldi bookshop on Via dei Bastioni di Michelangelo.

However this plan was reportedly abandoned due to the covid pandemic.

Then there were rumours that Starbucks would open in Rome's central Piazza S. Silvestro - another high-density tourist area - in the Palazzo Marignoli building that now houses the new flagship Apple store. That too came to nothing.

The history of coffee culture in Italy

In the end it was the surprise further-afield location of Castel Romano, which means that Starbucks will be relying predominantly on Italians, instead of tourists, as customers.

Starbucks launched in Italy in 2018, opening at Piazza Cordusio in Milan, and last October it announced plans to open more than 20 new stores by the end of 2023.

Photo credit: AngieYeoh / Shutterstock.com.