"It's awesome," laughs an ecstatic American woman waiting in line for her coffee, "that about sums it up." The newly opened Starbucks on Old Arbat looks like any other in the West, and despite its recent opening it already has the cozy lived-in feel of an established café. The place is full for a Sunday evening and is ablaze with festive spirit with a Christmas tree at the door and "O Holy Night" playing in the background.
"According to the latest research, there is one coffeehouse for every 3,187 people in Moscow," says Olga Eliseeva, operations director for Starbucks, "while in New York the figure is 365 and in Paris 126... thus in Russia, and particularly in Moscow, there is a huge opportunity for growth."
Starbucks opened its first Russian café in the Mega shopping mall in Khimki, North of Moscow in September, making Russia the 43rd country where the franchise operates.
"I'm glad Starbucks opened in the center, because a good coffee is hard to find," says Yana Lazareva. "But I would never have made a trip all the way to Khimki just for a coffee."
"This is our first time in Starbucks," say three students sitting in armchairs by the window. "Our friend already knew it from her time in Korea and she wanted to take us here as soon as it opened." They seem quite excited, laughing and taking pictures of each other by the Christmas tree laden with red paper cups. "It's very good here, and cozier than in many of the other café chains in Moscow, although it is a bit expensive."
With the price of a latte ranging from 150 to 200 rubles, and a mocha from 170 to 230, the drinks menu may seem a bit steep, compared to a 103-ruble cappuccino in Coffee Bean.
The no-smoking policy is another added bonus for many customers. "I cannot tolerate cigarette smoke," says Adam from the UK. "Coffee Bean and Coffee House are other places where smoking is not permitted. But there are some places in Moscow that supposedly have non-smoking sections but are simply unbearable to sit in."
Still, there are others who are not enchanted with the latest hot coffee shop on the block.
"I won't be sucked into it," says one rebellious Scotsman. "It's just the corporate tackiness of it, and it's overpriced."
But for some, it may provide a welcome break from the frenzied rush of the approaching holiday season. In fact, Starbuck's timing could not be better for luring in the tired, cold Christmas shoppers... after all, what's another 150 rubles after emptying one's bank account on presents? Some customers may find it strange that all the drinks are served in paper takeaway cups even for sit-in guests, "although you can ask to have your coffee in a ceramic mug if you want," says one of the staff.
What stands out in this place is the chirpiness of the staff. In a city where one can often get barked and sulked at by surly depressed-looking waiters, the personnel in Starbucks are keen to please and provide service with a smile. "You may speak in English," says one obliging attendant behind the counter to a foreign customer who is having trouble placing his order.
Customer service may well be the greatest selling point of the Seattle-based Starbucks, which some critics say has entered Moscow's highly competitive coffee market too late. Although the café culture has been growing in Moscow ever since the mid 1990s, with well-established chains such as Coffee House, Shokoladnitsa and Coffee Mania, quick service is definitely one point that many Moscow coffee chains still haven't mastered.
"I saw a customer be given a voucher for free coffee by the staff after a confusion at the till led him to wait longer than he should have for his drink. Now that's what I call service," says one impressed customer.
Starbucks is not the only Western coffee chain to open in the city center this season. Whitbread and the Rosinter Restaurants Holding "Rosinter" have announced this week their joint-venture to launch the UK-based Costa Coffee chain in Moscow, with their first shop set to open on Pushkin Square in early 2008.
By Nathalie Cooper
http://mnweekly.ru/
Starbucks Serves It Hot on Old Arbat
