After visiting Milan thirty-five years ago, the founder of Starbucks is opening their first store in Italy! After this trip, Howard Schultz became inspired to transform Starbucks and has launched a “Reserve Roastery” to resemble the small cafes that Italians are used to. In addition to coffee, the Milan roastery will sell food made by an Italian baker by the name of Rocco Princi. Conveniently located near the popular landmark, La Scala opera house, this twist on an American Starbucks café will focus on espressos, ice cream and pizza rather than the traditional Starbucks food and drink menu. Yes, that means there will be no beloved Frappuccinos on the menu!
This roastery is put in place here to serve the higher end of the market because a coffee will cost about a dollar more than the typical price at Italian cafes. In order to win customers over and break their habit of only visiting small Italian cafes, Starbucks of Milan will bring premium brews and novelties such as a heated marble-topped coffee bar and even a cocktail bar. What is better than sipping a steamy espresso at a warm bar on a chilly morning? A warmed, Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble bar sourced from a quarry in Calacatta that is. The details that line the bottom of this bar were hand carved out of a thirty-foot block of marble to create an eye-catching, inspirational centerpiece for the café. The piece of stone used for the bar was selected due to its unique color and veining and is highly valued due to its unrepeatability.
Designer, Liz Muller, began sketching the ideas for the project only the year before. She also had the important task of designing the roastery in Seattle and Shanghai and will be designing a few more in New York, Tokyo and Chicago. She looks up to Schultz in that he always makes his dream become a reality and really trusts her to make that happen. In an interview with Starbucks Newsroom she provided that in order to understand what people want, she walks the streets of that area in order to absorb how people act, what they buy and the things that they like. She says she was extremely inspired by the area of Milan because of the colors, marble, stone and sculptures and she gives her team credit for translating all of those elements into the colors and textures in the Roastery. Her most favorite parts of the roastery are the Italian materials and that she had the opportunity to partner with the best craftspeople to make her vision come to life.
Another classical touch that you won’t see in an American Starbucks is the Candoglia marble flooring that was hand laid by local artisans. The owners of Elements Room also had the opportunity to visit the same quarry that Starbucks selected this marble from, and we added the material to our inventory. That means you now have the opportunity to use this same premium, marble surface on your next project when you shop with us at Elements Room by Pacific Shore Stones!