27 November 2008 | The first Starbucks coffee shop was opened in Sofia yesterday by the Greek Marinopoulos Coffee Company Bulgaria, the Starbucks franchise partner in the Balkans.

“We’re proud that with the opening of our first venue in Bulgaria we’ll introduce Starbucks Coffee and the unique Starbucks experience to clients in a country with traditions and a rich coffee culture,” Yanis Kalfakakos, managing director of the Marinopoulos Coffee Company told media.

Starbucks, according to media reports, will serve over 15 coffee drinks made from Arabica coffee, as well as other kinds of beverages. In addition to the traditional products that can be found in all the Strabucks venues around the world, the company will also offer foods that use traditional Bulgarian ingredients and satisfy the taste and habits of the Bulgarian consumers.

Starbucks’ presence is Bulgaria will go beyond the coffee business too. “The positive contribution to society and the environment is a key part of the Starbucks culture,” Kalfakakos said. “In support of the goals of Strabucks Shared Planet, we’ll become partners of the SOS Children’s Villages in Bulgaria, in order to support the development of young people and the development of their potential,” he added.

SOS Children's Villages is an international non-governmental social development organisation that focuses on family-based, long-term care of children who can no longer grow up with their biological families.

Starbucks, a leader in earnings and the amount of branches worldwide, was created in 1971 in Seattle.

After the first Starbucks coffee shop opened in Sofia, there are plans to open another one in the capital. A third one will also be opened next year, although the Marinopoulos Coffee Company has not specified where yet.

In addition to Starbucks, there are currently about ten Bulgarian and international coffee chains operating on the Bulgarian market. Despite the significantly higher prices, certain sections of Bulgarian society have embraced the new international coffee chains for the quality, variety and atmosphere that they offer. Many Bulgarians still have their coffee at home or prefer to pay 0.40 leva (around 0.20 euro cents) for a watered-down coffee in the traditional hole-in-the-wall places, where ordering “one coffee” exhausts all the options.

However, many younger professionals, perhaps also viewing it as a status symbol, frequent the coffee chains, where ordering “a coffee” is followed by an endless series of clarifying questions. They prefer to pay the seemingly outrageous price of around 3 leva (1.5 euro) for “a grande skin-milk latte decaf with cinnamon and chocolate sprinkles” and drink it while browsing the wireless Internet – an order that Starbucks will surely be happy to fulfil.

The newly-opened branch of Starbucks in Sofia is located at 62 General Yosif Gurko Street, on the corner with Vasil Levski Boulevard.

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