At the end of November 2019, Starbucks opened a brand new store on Kärntnerstrasse in the shadow of the Vienna State Opera, mere metres from such legendary names as Gerstner and the Hotel Sacher. When the coffee chain opened its first branch in Vienna in December 2001, Kärntnerstrasse was its home, but in June 2016, Starbucks made the decision to close what was then its flagship store at a time when the branch was in desperate need of renovation and the monthly lease on the premises had escalated to an unsustainable 25,000 Euros per month. Superficially, Starbucks seemed on the retreat -- giving up its flagship store to, of all things, Zara Home -- but after fifteen years in Vienna, they had managed to establish a chain of 15 stores in a city already saturated with places to grab a cup of coffee and something sweet.
A niche product, Starbucks in Vienna has found success among three demographic groups, none of whom have much to do with the city at all. The first is tourists, for whom Starbucks remains a safe and familiar brand in an alien environment akin to the glorious sight of McDonald's golden arches. The second is commuters, wont to pick up a takeaway coffee on their way to the office or between meetings. And the third is the young, especially those that come into Vienna on day trips from surrounding towns and villages for whom Starbucks retains a certain cachet, one that likely no longer exists in the United States. In that sense its alienness -- the very reason Starbucks has failed in other territories, notably Israel -- is why Starbucks has carved out a nook for itself in Vienna. With its oversized, customisable drink orders slung at customers in paper cups and Americanised dessert counter full of muffins and cheesecake slices, Starbucks is everything the refined coffeehouse is not, and the other way around.
