Upscale New 'Starbucks Reserve' Opening in Prague This Week

While US coffee giant Starbucks has yet to enter some competitive markets in Europe – though it will soon make its debut in Italy with a location in Milan – the brand has been an unquestionable success in the Czech Republic, with dozens of venues opening across the country after starting with a single Malá Strana store a decade ago.

And later this week, Starbucks in Prague is going to get a fancy new upgrade.

Last year, Starbucks unveiled a new concept of premium ‘Starbucks Reserve” roastery-bars to compete with upscale coffee brands that have taken a bite out of their market, with a goal of opening 1000 of them across the US by the end of 2018.

The flagship Starbucks Reserve SODO location was unveiled at the coffee giant’s Seattle headquarters earlier this year, featuring giant walnut entry doors, brass-rimmed portholes, and a wide-open market-style space that allowed the company to showcase its own brand alongside upscale partners like Italian Princi Bakery.

The new line of roasteries do more than just turn the art of coffee into an experience; a fully-stocked bar includes craft alcoholic cocktails along with cold brew coffee on tap, and Princi gives the locale a menu full of authentic Italian classics like pizza margherita di bufala.

“While our Roasteries are designed to be bold, educational environments, our Reserve store takes the best of coffee craft as well as artisan baking and layers in a marketplace-style customer experience creating a space that has both energy and moments of intimacy,” Liz Muller, senior vice president, Creative, Global Design & Innovation, said in a press release.

As more locations open across the US, international Starbucks Reserve roasteries are also spreading, with locations in cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, and Bangkok.

Starbucks’ new location in Milan will also be a Starbucks Reserve roastery, as the brand takes on the hotly-contested Italian coffee market. And it will be joined by another Starbucks Reserve location in Europe: right in the center of Prague.

While little information about the new Starbucks Reserve bar in Prague is currently available, work is now complete on the the new roastery, which will be housed in a historic Prague location.

Prague’s Starbucks Reserve is located on the ground level of Palác Adria, the 1920s art deco landmark on the corner of Národní třída and Jungmannovo náměstí right outside the entrance to the Můstek metro station.

Starbucks Reserve’s Prague roastery will officially open this Friday, September 21, from 08:00. It does not appear that Prague’s Starbucks Reserve will feature amenities on the scale of SODO’s Princi Bakery; instead, it’s being promoted as a premium Prague location to sample some of the company’s rare and exotic blends.

The new Starbucks Reserve bar in Prague coincides with the 10th anniversary of the brand in the Czech Republic, which debuted with a single store at Malostranské náměstí back in 2008.