Starbucks To Open First Store In Italy

For many, it feels like there is a Starbucks everywhere—except not in Italy.

The coffee chain announced the opening of it’s first Italian cafe in Milan next year, reports the New York Times.

Starbucks has hesitated to open a cafe in Italy, given the country’s strong coffee shop culture. But Starbucks chairman Howard D. Shultz made the announcement at Milan Fashion Week, telling the Times that company was finally ready to introduce itself in Italy.

Shultz says Starbucks will adhere to local coffee traditions.

“There will definitely be a bar,” Shultz told the Times. “We’re not coming here to teach Italians to make coffee — nothing like that at all…We have to earn the respect.”

[NYT]