Starbucks Surpasses 30 Stores in Puerto Rico with the Opening of Two New Locations


With an investment of nearly $2 million, Starbucks enters the city of Hatillo and reopens a store at Fairmont El San Juan Hotel.  The openings will bring 38 new jobs to the island.

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Baristas del Caribe, LLC. (BDC), the operating licensee of Starbucks in Puerto Rico, today announced the return of the iconic coffee brand to Isla Verde -a popular tourist destination- with the reopening of a store in the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel.  Additionally, Starbucks is expanding to a new city in the northern zone of the island, with a new drive-thru store on the PR-2 Road in the municipality of Hatillo at the end of March.

“These new Starbucks stores mark the 30th -and 31st- locations in the market, respectively.  Starbucks Puerto Rico now operates in 9 municipalities across the island, with approximately 600 partners (employees) proudly wearing the Green Apron.  We are excited to enter the city of Hatillo and return to the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel,” said Jaime Luis Fonalledas, president of Baristas del Caribe.  “At Starbucks Puerto Rico we work strive to create moments of connection and provide a warm and welcoming experience for customers to enjoy high-quality arabica coffee and handcrafted beverages.”

The reopening of the store at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel and Hatillo store required an investment of nearly $2 million.  The openings create 38 new jobs between the two locations.

As part of Starbucks Reinvention plans, the new stores feature innovations in technology that benefit both customers and partners (employees).  The stores feature a new coffee machine technology, known as the Mastrena 2.0.

“The introduction of Mastrena 2.0 in our new stores allows Starbucks partners to make high-quality handcrafted espresso beverages with speed and precision. It allows our partners to better interact with our customers offering the opportunity for partners to carry out tastings and informational seminars.  Providing customers with samplings of fresh, espresso coffee profiles creates a greater opportunity for connection and exchange of knowledge with Starbucks customers, which translates into a unique and enduring experience for our regular visitors,” stated Idis Ortiz-López, general manager of Starbucks in Puerto Rico.

The new stores also feature the Starbucks Grounds For Your Garden initiative, which offers customers free bags of used coffee grounds to take home and use as a green compost or fertilizer alternative.  As is customary, each store will identify community organizations in their area with which they will be collaborating and offering volunteer service.

The Fairmont El San Juan Hotel and Hatillo stores will operate from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, daily.

About Starbucks Puerto Rico

Starbucks Puerto Rico operated for the past seven years by Baristas del Caribe, LLC. (BDC) opened its first store in San Juan in 2002.  Today, Starbucks Puerto Rico has 31 stores open throughout the island, employing nearly 600 partners (employees).  Since 1971, Starbucks has been committed to sourcing ethical suppliers and roasting the best quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores all over the world, the company is the leading specialty coffee roaster and retailer. Through an unwavering commitment to excellence and values, the brand strives to offer the unmatched Starbucks Experience to all customers and partners, furthering Starbucks mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit -one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

To learn more about the Starbucks Experience in Puerto Rico, visit www.starbuckspr.com.