Coffee Invasion

The inevitable has finally happened in Prague: Starbucks, the coffee behemoth from Seattle has invaded the Czech Republic. The American coffee chain so far has one location in Prague, located on Malostranske namesti, but once in a country, the chain tends to spread like wildfire, and pessimists predict that within a few years, there will be a Starbucks on every corner of the capital, driving small independent cafes out of business. But let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.

The ribbon was cut at 9 am on Tuesday, the 22nd of January, as a curious crowd gathered to witness the event (and try some tasty caffeinated beverages). Ironically, the building used by Starbucks once housed a historical literary cafe. Like the American locations, the Prague Starbucks is meant to be more than just a place to get coffee on the go - with plenty of seating and wireless internet available, Starbucks is more of a meeting place to hang out and even work.

The next Starbucks locations are already being planned, and one will already open in February, in the Palladium shopping centre. After all, with over 15,000 stores worldwide, what's a few more in Prague? However, despite the initial enthusiasm from Czech patrons, time has yet to tell if the coffee chain will be as successful here as it has been in America - especially with a medium (sorry, venti) latte going for more than 100 CZK!