Czechmatediary

OK, so small (or excuse me, “tall”) coffee at Starbucks in the Czech Republic costs $3.00 (50 Crowns) which is about twice as much as in the USA and do you think people are buying it? YES THEY ARE! The Seattle-based chain is in fact doing so well that it is planning on doubling its stores in the former Eastern Europe over the next 5 years. Prague has 9 stores right now and 2 in Poland. The expansion is planned for other Czech cities as well as into Hungary and more of Poland. So while Starbucks is in the process of closing 600 poorly performing stores in the US, Eastern Europe may hold the company above the water.

The whole article about Starbucks in the Czech Republic can be found here (click here).

PS: Tak si predstavte, ze male kafe v prazskem Starbucksu stoji 50 Kc ($3.00), coz je tedy dvakrat vice nez co to stoji v US. Clovek by si myslel, ze obchod prodelava…ani nahodou! Starbucksuv profit totiz primo rozvkveta.  Tento Seattlovsky retezec planuje behem 5-ti let zdvojnasobit pocet obchodu v cele vychodni Evrope. Praha jich ma zatim 9, Starbucks se ale chysta take do dalsich ceskych mest, take do Madarska a do mensich mest v Polsku. Zajimave je, ze v USA se tomuto retezci moc nevede. V pristich 18 mesicich ma zavrit kolem 600-ti neprospesnych pobocek, tedy Evropske pobocky maji tuto potapejici se lod asi zachranit. Uvidime.

Cely clanek o Starbucksu v Cechach si muzete precist zde (kliknete zde).

When I was growing up in the former Czechoslovakia people did not drink real coffee. They either drank the instant kind  or they drank it Turkish-style. For those who are not familiar with Turkish coffee, you basically put ground up coffee grounds on the bottom of the cup and pour hot water over it. Then you wait until the majority of it settles down (notice, I say “majority” because about 1/4th of the grounds ends up in your teeth – creates a lovely look). Anyway, my parents drank it, I drank it throughout my high school years and did not think much of it, just hoped it would keep me awake during my study nights. But THEN I  came to the US and was introduced to Starbucks….and from then on it went downhill with me. I just loved their coffee! My unhealthy relationship with Starbucks  went  so far that I ended up working there for a couple of years and yes, I did have to get up at 3:15 am for my morning shifts and yes, I did become the feared  Tripple-tall-half-decaf-extra-hot-one-pump-sugar-free-vanilla-soy-no-foam-late beast. (more…)

The ultimate evil has finally descended onto the streets of beautiful Prague! What am I talking about? The first Starbucks will be opening there at the end of the month. This cookie-cutter,McDonald’s-like restaurant chain, where even the toilet bowl faces in exactly the same angle at every single Starbucks location in the world, will be located at the Gromlingovsky palace at the Malostranske square. Gromlingovsky palace has been a hang-out place of famous philosophers, writers and other various artists for centuries and this tradition is basically going to end right here. Why? Because the Starbucks sterile and monotone environment does not exactly wake up one’s creative muse. Don’t get me wrong, I love Starbucks. I love it so much that I used to work there for about 3 years ( that’s a story for some other time – or post). The coffee quality is great and consistent and it basically saved the US from drinking mud water until eternity. But does Europe need Starbucks? Does Prague need Starbucks?? NO! (more…)