Starbucks Opens Its First Store in the Center of Amsterdam

All Starbucks coffee distributed to its 1,700 stores across Europe, Middle East and Africa is roasted and packaged at the Amsterdam plant. More than 160 partners (employees) work at the plant and headquarters.

4/26/2011 --- Starbucks is proud to announce the opening of the first fully- owned Starbucks store at 101 Leidsestraat,  the popular shopping and dining district in Amsterdam’s city center. The opening of the Leidsestraat store marks the start of a phased entry into high street locations in Amsterdam, a market with a rich coffee heritage. A second, larger store will follow on the Beethovenstraat this summer. Starbucks has had a retail presence in the Netherlands since 2007 when the first coffeehouse opened at Schiphol Airport. This is the 11th Starbucks store in the Netherlands.

“We welcome the first Starbucks store in the center of Amsterdam,” said Carolien Gehrels, Amsterdam Alderwoman for Economic Affairs, Arts and Culture. “I’m sure Starbucks will feel at home in Amsterdam’s vibrant city centre and attract both locals and customers from all over the world”.

Starbucks has had operations in the Netherlands since 2002, when it opened its EMEA headquarters and Coffee Roasting Plant in Amsterdam. It is Starbucks only roasting facility located outside the United States. All Starbucks coffee distributed to its 1,700 stores across Europe, Middle East and Africa is roasted and packaged at the Amsterdam plant. More than 160 partners (employees) work at the plant and headquarters.

Rich Nelsen, president of Starbucks Coffee EMEA, said: “As we celebrate our company’s 40th anniversary we are excited to open our first store in the very heart of Amsterdam. We are determined to be true to our original promise – to deliver the highest quality, locally roasted coffee and customer service in exceptional stores, and we will never compromise on our founding principle of running a business that is socially and ethically responsible. We look forward to continuing to introduce our high-quality coffees and unique Starbucks Experience to customers in the Netherlands.”

Starbucks Coffee Netherlands will operate the new Leidsestraat store. Its interior showcases Starbucks admiration for the Netherlands’ major contribution to making coffee one of the world’s most consumed beverages.

The five Starbucks stores at Schiphol airport and the five at major railway stations in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leiden are operated by license partners HMS Host and Servex respectively.