Starbucks expands Community Stores all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa
This content was paid for by Starbucks, and produced in partnership with the Morning Wire Commercial department.
A term first coined by sociologist Ray Oldenberg, ‘third places’ are a space outside of a person’s
home (first place) or work (second place), that is uniquely for socialising and building
connections. Humans are social creatures by nature, therefore these places – coffee shops,
gyms, pubs etc. – are essential to our wellbeing and sense of community. However, these vital
third places have been vanishing before our very eyes.
Since the pandemic, we have been spending more time socialising through the screen and less
time engaging in the real world. As a result, many of the venues typically considered to be third
places now lack that community feel. It should therefore come as no surprise that the world is
becoming a more isolated place, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting that 1 in 5
older people and between 5-15% of adolescents currently experience loneliness, globally.
Starbucks was founded on the principle of human connection – it’s at the heart of everything we
do and stand for. This mission has perhaps never been more important than it is today. That’s
why we’re taking a unique approach to building community, as we strive to revitalise today’s
third places.
In the bustling municipality of Ümraniye Yamanevler, Türkiye, you will find the latest example of
our vision for the future of our stores. Launched in November 2024, Ümraniye Yamanevler is
what we call a Community Store.
A truly community-led approach
Starbucks Community Stores began as an idea in the United States. In Harlem, New York and
Crenshaw, Los Angeles, we trialled a new concept for our stores, with the intention of reflecting
the culture, character and unique needs of the communities and neighbourhoods we served.
What started out as an experiment was so successful we began expanding it globally.
From an all-female drive-thru in Saudi Arabia to stores specially designed to accommodate the
Deaf and hard of hearing community, our Community Stores are bringing people together in
unique ways across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.
Community Stores strive to give back to the local community in various ways. Starbucks
partners with local artists, suppliers and non-profit organisations every step of the way – from concepting and building to opening day and beyond. And with a vast footprint spread across 42
different countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, we must tailor each store carefully to
meet the diverse needs of every locality, meaning no two stores are ever the same.
Not only is it important that our stores are a reflection of our communities, we also strive to give
back to the people we serve, boosting local economies by providing opportunities for the
community. In 2022, for example, we opened our first all-female operated drive-thru in Saudi
Arabia, supporting the government’s aims of increasing the female workforce across the country
from 22% to 30% over coming years.
We often also enlist the support of local artists for the interior design of these spaces, creating a
place that is truly representative of the local arts and cultural scene. By working hand-in-hand
with local partners, we’re able to create hyper-localised spaces that are as unique as the people
who visit them.
Our ultimate ambition is to create safe, accessible and inspiring third places that empower
people to gather, connect, create and learn. In the newly launched Ümraniye Yamanevler store,
for instance, we partnered with non-profit organisation Community Volunteers Foundation
(TOG) to create a space where young people can discover their creativity and freely explore
their passions. The store offers a range of educational programmes across a breadth of topics,
from personal development to career planning. This partnership includes a $135,000 Global
Community Impact Grant from The Starbucks Foundation, which will empower 1,000 young
people in the community.
A space for everyone
Equality is a critical pillar of our Community Stores and we’ve worked hard to ensure that they are
accessible and safe for everyone. Given that, according to WHO, approximately 1.3 billion
people globally experience some form of disability – around 16% of the world’s population –
accessibility and inclusivity are necessary to ensure our stores are truly reflective of all our
customers.
To ensure our stores offer the best possible experiences for both Deaf and hard of hearing
customers and our employees alike, we’ve formed a number of partnerships with industry
experts, such as the British Deaf Association (BDA) and the Deaf Leadership, Accessibility
Office and Access Alliance Network. Through these collaborations, we have been able to
implement specific design modifications and best practices, such as specially-designed order
boards and iPads to assist with placing orders. In the UK, we’ve also launched a first-of-its-kind
training programme in more than 450 of our stores, encouraging our baristas to learn British
Sign Language.
Our first ever Signing Store opened its doors in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, back in 2016. Now,
we’ve opened stores all over the world. These stores are bustling hubs that foster connection
and understanding, offering a welcoming and accessible space for the Deaf and hard of hearing
community as well as providing career and learning opportunities for our employees. For the
hearing, these stores pose the chance to learn something new about the Deaf experience or
Deaf culture.
The future of third places
But this is only the beginning. In coming years, Starbucks is going back to the heritage that
made customers fall in love with us in the first place. You can expect to see more Starbucks
Community Stores appear all over the region, as we continue to revitalise third places with a
renewed focus on sparking moments of connection through the joy of coffee. Watch this space.
Please find out more here