25 Aug 2020 Starbucks to open its first Cape Town store

Five years after opening its first stores in South Africa, Starbucks will soon have outlets in Cape Town for the first time.

The first Cape Town store will be open in Canal Walk in mid-November, the company told Netwerk24. “Several leases” are in place in Cape Town.

The Starbucks licence in South Africa is held by Rand Capital Coffee, which bought it from the struggling Taste Holdings at the end of last year. Taste sold its 13 Starbucks stores in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal for only R7-million.

Adrian Maizey, owner and CEO of Rand Capital Coffee, says the company’s Cape Town launch was initially intended to happen in June. 

“When Covid-19 hit we had to place the initiative on hold, triggering several hard decisions that impacted all partners, and a mass round of lease renegotiations across the country.

“Fortunately, we have resilient partners and we are grateful to those landlords who share our vision and commitment to contribute to the South African economy, and who have worked closely with us to help ensure our expansion was only delayed and not cancelled.

“It is during such a time of crisis that the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders for the greater good, is most apparent,” says Maizey.

Fifty permanent jobs will be created as part of the Cape Town expansion.

Starbucks was established in 1971 in the US, and it now has more than 32,000 stores in 80 countries.

Source: www.businessinsider.co.za