The Washington Post: Starbucks’ Next Move: Italian Restaurants

Starbucks is trying something new to win over lunch and dinner crowds. As an article in The Washington Post notes, the coffee chain is breaking into the food industry and preparing to open up its first stand-alone Italian restaurant.

To position itself as a restaurant, Starbucks is teaming up with Princi, a chain of 24-hour bakeries in Milan and London. Through the partnership, Starbucks will be able to offer customers freshly made items like focaccia sandwiches, margherita pizzas and tiramisu. This new concept marks Starbucks’ first venture into baking in its own stores. Items on the menu will be priced between $3 and $11.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks, said, “We’re getting into the food business. Princi will be fully integrated with bakery options, so not only will we be roasting coffee, but we’ll be baking bread, pastries—the kind of Italian pastries you’ve never seen in America.”

Starbucks’ first restaurant opened up on Tuesday in its Reserve Roastery in Seattle. The brand is planning to expand the concept into other major markets like New York and Chicago in 2018.