It’s Official: Starbucks is Coming to Cape Town in 2020

We’ve got big news for Starbucks fans in Cape Town: 4 years after opening its first store in Joburg, Starbucks has finally announced plans to open stores in Cape Town in 2020. Starbucks launched its first store in Rosebank, Joburg in April 2016 and followed with three additional stores in Gauteng at Mall of Africa, Menlyn Maine and Menlyn Park but now the chain is setting its sights on the Cape. Here are all the details on the Starbucks Cape Town store opening.

This week, Adrian Maizey owner and CEO of Rand Capital Coffee (the custodian of Starbucks in Southern Africa) announced plans for a “bold expansion into Cape Town”, scheduled for later this year. According to Maizey, the first Starbucks store in Cape Town was initially set to open in June this year but plans were derailed due to Covid-19.

“When Covid-19 hit we had to place the initiative on hold, triggering several hard decisions that impacted all partners, and a mass round of lease renegotiations across the country,” explained Maizey. “Fortunately, we have resilient partners and we are grateful to those landlords who share our vision and commitment to contribute to the South African economy, and who have worked closely with us to help ensure our expansion was only delayed and not cancelled.”

The first Starbucks store in Cape Town will open its doors at Canal Walk shopping centre in November this year with Rand Capital Coffee confirming that the expansion journey will initially result in at least 50 permanent new jobs, with the further employment of local artists, construction contractors, and artisans in Cape Town.

On the subject of store design and experience, Maizey says the Cape Town stores “will offer an experience consistent with the values and store atmosphere that Starbucks is known for globally, designed to reflect the most beautiful city of them all.”

Adds Maizey, “We are humbled and delighted to introduce the Starbucks Experience to customers in Cape Town and hope our store will become not only a destination for an exceptional coffee, but also a gathering place for the local community. We look forward to sharing our deep pride and enthusiasm for coffee, brewed and served by a world-class team of passionate, knowledgeable partners with Capetonians and visitors to the city.”

While no opening dates or locations for Cape Town have been released just yet there is a lot Capetonians can look forward to when the fist Cape Town Starbucks store opens its doors later this year.

The Starbucks South Africa coffee menu offers a wide variety of caffeinated drinks in three different sizes namely Tall, Grande, and Venti. Customers can choose from anything from a cup of filter coffee or Vanilla Bean Macchiato to an Expresso, Espresso Macchiato, or Expresso Con-Panna. But the fun doesn’t stop there as there’s also the option to choose to create your own coffee creation with 5 types of milk (including full fat, medium fat, fat-free, soy and coconut milk), and a few extras (including an extra shot of Espresso, syrups, and cream).

Not into coffee? Not to worry, there are loads of options for non-coffee drinkers to enjoy at Starbucks as well. If you’re after something hot then try a Caramel or Hazelnut Hot Chocolate, Chai Latte, or a Classic Hot Chocolate. Tea lovers can enjoy a variety of full leaf teas including English Breakfast, China Green, Mint Blend, Hibiscus Blend and more. For Rooibos lovers there are a bunch of creative options including a classic rooibos tea, a Rooibos Cappucino, Rooibos Latte, and a Rooibos Espresso.

Of course, we can’t forget about Starbucks’ famous Frappuccinos! They’re finally here, and we’re all about gulping down as many as humanly possible. Try a Caramel, Java Chip, Mocha, Vanilla Cream, Caramel Cream, Strawberry Cream, or Chocolate Cream Frappuccino. If it’s a fruity flavour you’re after then there are two fruit and tea blend Frappuccinos available namely the Raspberry Blackcurrant and the Mango Passion Fruit both. We got the chance to try the Caramel and Strawberry Frappuccinos and they were both simply divine!

For more information visit the Starbucks South Africa website and say Hi to Starbucks South Africa on Facebook.