Starbucks Uruguay opens first cafe in the country

Starbucks Uruguay has opened its first cafe, located in the capital city Montevideo.

The Seattle-headquartered coffee giant appointed Alsea International as its local partner, a leading restaurant operator in Latin America and Spain, whose brand portfolio already includes Domino’s Pizza, Burger King, Chili’s, California Pizza Kitchen, PF Chang’s, Italianni’s, The Cheesecake Factory, Archie’s and Foster’s Hollywood. It has 3300 stores in total in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Spain, including 900 Starbucks outlets in include Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.

The debut Starbucks Uruguay store is located in the Montevideo Shopping mall. Starbucks says the store’s design honors Montevideo city and its culture. Exposed concrete columns and ceilings bring character and texture to the store. Custom leather details  – a material with great local relevance – are designed to evoke a warm ambience. The cafe has a green living wall with local plants to connect the store to the origins and environment of a coffee farm.

One of the most striking features of the store is a mural painted by Nicolas Alfalfa, a local artist. Alfalfa was able to illustrate the Siren, the iconic symbol of the Starbucks brand, over a concrete finish, extending across the back wall of the store and which can be observed from any point within the space.

“Our first store in the beautiful country of Uruguay marks a key milestone for our expansion in Latin America,” said Ricardo Rico, Starbucks GM and VP for Latin America.

Federico Tejado, director of Alsea International, said at least five Starbucks Uruguay stores would be opened this year and 10 by 2020.

“We are proud to present a one-of-a-kind store that will make all our partners and customers in Uruguay feel proud,” said Pablo Jaratz, GM of Starbucks Uruguay. “Our passionate and knowledgeable baristas have spent many months training with some of our best Starbucks baristas, coffee masters and experienced partners only for this day.”