Starbucks faces picky customers in Vienna
Published 9:00 pm Friday, December 7, 2001
Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria — Coffee first made a splash in Vienna in 1683 when Turkish soldiers laying siege to the city retreated, leaving bags of unknown brown beans behind.
Now, more than three centuries later, a new invader — the American coffee shop chain Starbucks — is bringing its trademark caramel macchiato and frappucino to the heart of this city known as the birthplace of the coffeehouse tradition.
Today, Starbucks opens a shop in Vienna’s historic city center across from the venerable Vienna State Opera house — the first of up to 15 shops the Seattle-based company plans for Austria over the next 18 months.
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said the symbolic location makes this "a turning point" for the company. But he promised that Starbucks, which operates nearly 5,000 franchises in almost 30 countries, won’t seek to undermine Vienna as a mocha Mecca.
"We will coexist in a way with traditional coffeehouses so that both will succeed," Schultz said.
The Viennese, who can choose from among 1,900 cafes, seem instinctively skeptical of the American intruder.
"Coffee in Vienna is something that takes time. Starbucks is just fast food," sniffed Erich Kocina, a 27-year-old student sipping java Friday at Cafe Hawelka, one of the Austrian capital’s most venerable coffeehouses.
The Vienna shop, with its large windows, ochre walls and spacious interior, introduces something which might seem especially foreign here: Unlike typical smoke-filled European cafes, Starbucks is strictly nonsmoking.
"I’ve never heard of Starbucks, but I wouldn’t go to a coffeehouse where you can’t smoke," said Ulli Schiller, 38, a cosmetics worker. "And I wouldn’t order a coffee to go in a paper cup, because I want to enjoy coffee where it’s cozy."
"I can’t enjoy myself if I can’t smoke. I’d die without my cigarettes," added 22-year-old Katja Eckert.
Beat Curti, the founder of Bon Appetit AG, Starbucks’ joint- venture partner in Austria and Switzerland, said the company’s experiences in Switzerland provide a model.
After gaining a foothold in Britain, Starbucks first entered the continental European market in March with a shop in Zurich, and now has six locations throughout Switzerland.
Curti said the arrival of Starbucks, while not a threat to Vienna’s traditional cafes, is bound to damage "imitators" that model themselves on modern American coffee shops.
Just around the corner from the Vienna shop is Coffeeshop Co., a small shop whose logo looks strikingly similar to Starbucks’ signature green, white and black mermaid logo. It serves up typical American fare — bagels, muffins and brownies — and offers flavored coffees.
Iris Schaerf, who works part-time in the shop founded by her uncle, said the company’s leaders believe they will survive the threat posed by Starbucks.
"We are like David to their Goliath," Schaerf said. "But we’re not afraid because we have better coffee."
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