Starbucks has officially opened its first café in Iceland, welcoming customers to its new location at Laugavegur 66 in central Reykjavík.
The launch comes after months of delays caused by permit issues with the City of Reykjavík, as reported by local media.
Originally scheduled for May, the store’s opening was postponed due to licensing challenges. Despite the setbacks, excitement has been building, as seen on social media and reddit forums. The new café employs 16 staff members, including baristas, managers and support personnel. A second store is expected to open in the coming weeks.
Daníel Kári Stefánsson, Managing Director of Starbucks in Iceland, told reporters: “It is a true honour and great pleasure for me to bring the Starbucks experience to Iceland and finally open the first coffee shop in the heart of Reykjavík. Our coffee baristas look forward to sharing their knowledge and passion for coffee with Icelandic customers.”
Operated by Beryaja Coffee Iceland ehf.—a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Berjaya Food Berhad, which also holds Starbucks licences in Finland and Denmark—the café aims to serve as a welcoming ‘third place’ between home and work.
Customers can expect the familiar range of coffees, cold drinks, sandwiches and desserts, all made locally. The company joins a global network of over 40,000 Starbucks stores worldwide.
Source: Iceland Review
