Starbucks opens first subway station store in Seoul

Starbucks Korea has a new store in Seoul, and it is located in an unusual place. The coffee chain opens the very first cafe in the subway station.

As per Pulse News, Starbucks Korea, which is operating under full ownership of Shinsegae Group, usually builds its coffee shops in a spacious area, but this time, it chose to set it up in a subway outpost in the capital of South Korea.

To be more exact, the store is in Gangnam subway station, and it is expected to get many customers since it is one of the busiest stops in Seoul. Starbucks Korea said that building a coffee shop in an underground location is part of its expansion strategy in the country.

Yonhap News Agency further reported that the outlet was designed to serve the commuters, especially during the rush hours. The coffee chain aims to offer quick service to people who commute to work or school.

The new store is expected to be successful because the location not only has heavy traffic and is busy every day but its Gangnam site is also known to be an opulent neighborhood. It was said that this is one of the busiest subways in South Korea and averaging around 100,000 commuters per day.

Moreover, the consumption of drinks or food on the train is not prohibited in Seoul Metro, so this is a big advantage to Starbucks Korea. Even with a bit of COVID-19 protocol still in effect, such as wearing the masks while riding in the subway, drinking and eating are generally allowed, and this was confirmed by Seol Metro's press team's assistant manager, Park Jeong Min.

It should be noted that the local government already lifted the mask mandate in public places earlier this month. However, everyone is still required to wear them when indoors and in other closed spaces.

In any case, it was mentioned that the Starbucks in Korea's Gangnam subway is the second in the world that is operating in such an area. The only other Starbucks store that is operating in an underground station is in London's Canary Wharf station.

"At this point, the company has no plans to consider expanding to more underground locations or take-out only stores," Starbucks Korea's spokesperson said.