QCOSTARICA – Starbucks announced it will be opening of fours new locations in coming seeks. The new locations will be in the Plaza de la Cultura (downtown San Jose), Los Yoses, Alajuela and Curridabat (Cronos Square).
The first to open will be downtown San Jose. For weeks staff at the new stores have been training in the Starbucks La Sabana west store.
The chain already has stores, in addition to the La Sabana west, in Lincoln Square, Avenida Escazu, Plaza Freses and Distrito Quatro (Guachipelin).
Starbucks arrived in Costa Rica in 2012, to compete with a growing number of coffee local houses that includes Spoon, Giacomin, Te Con Te and Cafetto’s
In 2011, the Italian coffee chain Lavazza opened its first location in the San Jose airport, in 2013 opening it Boulevard (Rohrmoser) store. The newcomer in the coffehouse competition is Colombia’s Juan Valdez, opening it first location a few months back, in La Sabana west, two blocks from Starbucks, across from Lavazzas, diagonal to the National Stadium.
In Bogota, Colombia, Starbucks has gone head-to-head with Juan Valdez.
Coffee consumption in Costa Rica has grown some 48% in recent years, the highest among the coffee producing countries of Latin America. In Brazil is consumption has grown 12%, while in Colombia it has remained steady.
