Russians to sip Starbucks java this Thursday

Starbucks plans to open its first Russian coffee shop this week in a mall north of Moscow with a coffee-drink menu its fans will recognize, along with food tailored to local tastes.

Local favorites such as honey cake and cinnamon buns with custard filling will be sold alongside Starbucks' traditional blueberry muffins, and some sandwiches will include a popular Russian tomato bread, Cliff Burrows, Starbucks president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said Monday from Amsterdam.

Starbucks will open Thursday in Mega Khimki, a large Ikea-developed mall that already has five cafes. Unlike some coffee shops in Russia, it will not serve alcoholic drinks or allow smoking.

Starbucks' second Russian store will be on central Moscow's historic and touristy Stary Arbat Street, but Burrows did not disclose an opening date.

Although Starbucks arrives in Russia later than some Western retailers and already faces robust competition from other coffee-shop chains, Burrows sees plenty of room for growth.

"Moscow itself is incredibly dynamic in embracing international brands and developing local brands," he said.

Moscow has one coffeehouse for every 3,187 people, while New York has one per 365 people and Paris one per 126 people, Burrows said, citing recent data from market-research firm Euromonitor International.

This summer, Starbucks brought a handful of employees from its first Russian stores to train in Seattle, where they learned more about coffee and helped serve customers here.

Burrows declined to say how many stores Starbucks expects to have in Russia by the end of the year or where it will go after Moscow.

Earlier reports from its joint-venture partner there, Kuwaiti-based M.H. Alshaya, say it hopes to have 10 Starbucks stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg by the end of the year.

Starbucks chose Alshaya as its partner in Russia because the Kuwait company has experience there and operates Starbucks locations in several foreign markets, mostly in the Middle East, Burrows said.

The Seattle chain aims to have 20,000 international stores some day.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com