To be honest, until last week I haven't even thought about it and was truly convinced there were Starbucks at least in the really big cities like Milan and Rome and I just didn't notice. Turns out I didn't do my homework and there really is not one single Starbucks in Italy!
So, last week I had a coffee with my colleagues after lunch and one of them said just out of the blue „I really would like to have a chocolate capuccino from Starbucks“ and in that moment I discovered the horrifying truth: They don't have Starbucks here!
Apparently I haven't even missed it so far and living in Parma I thought it was just one of those things Italians only have in really big cities. Not that Parma is small but they are a bit particular with fast food and chains in general. McDonalds for example isn't allowed to open a restaurant in the city centre to protect the food culture. SO I never even questioned the absence of the coffee chain. The weird thing is: Now that I know it, I reeeally want a tall chai tea latte!
So I was wondering why and I found some articles on the internet, saying Starbucks hasn't opened a coffee shop in Italy (yet) because they believe no one would go there. Fair enough – Italians are usually just fine with their quick caffè at the bar for 1 Euro. But the thing is, talking to my colleagues about it, it isn't really the coffee and other beverages anyone who has been abroad is missing! It is the atmosphere of the coffee shop as we foreigners know it! Also Italians would like to sit down in a cozy place, enjoying their caramel brulée latte and watching upcoming writers writing their first novel (scene taken from any cheesy movie that plays in winterly Manhattan). The usually rather spartanic, practically furnished bars here just can't create that atmosphere.
There are, by the way, some places that serve combinations like coffee with chocolate and whipped cream like autogrill and Lino's, but sorry we are not getting there, not even close...
So please Starbucks, give it a go?! :-)
Apparently I haven't even missed it so far and living in Parma I thought it was just one of those things Italians only have in really big cities. Not that Parma is small but they are a bit particular with fast food and chains in general. McDonalds for example isn't allowed to open a restaurant in the city centre to protect the food culture. SO I never even questioned the absence of the coffee chain. The weird thing is: Now that I know it, I reeeally want a tall chai tea latte!
So I was wondering why and I found some articles on the internet, saying Starbucks hasn't opened a coffee shop in Italy (yet) because they believe no one would go there. Fair enough – Italians are usually just fine with their quick caffè at the bar for 1 Euro. But the thing is, talking to my colleagues about it, it isn't really the coffee and other beverages anyone who has been abroad is missing! It is the atmosphere of the coffee shop as we foreigners know it! Also Italians would like to sit down in a cozy place, enjoying their caramel brulée latte and watching upcoming writers writing their first novel (scene taken from any cheesy movie that plays in winterly Manhattan). The usually rather spartanic, practically furnished bars here just can't create that atmosphere.
There are, by the way, some places that serve combinations like coffee with chocolate and whipped cream like autogrill and Lino's, but sorry we are not getting there, not even close...
So please Starbucks, give it a go?! :-)