World’s Largest Starbucks Opens in Shanghai

The next time you’re in Shanghai, you might want to add a trip to Starbucks to your itinerary — no joke.

According to CNN.com, Starbucks opened its largest store to date there yesterday, spanning 30,000-square-feet. The space is part of the new retail program, Starbucks Reserve Roastery, giving customers the opportunity to watch beans being roasted onsite. In addition to coffee, there’s also a special tea bar, mixing up creations like “nitrogen cold brew tea.”

Starbucks hasn’t gone this big since it opened the Reserve Roastery location in Seattle three years ago. This Shanghai shop is twice as big.

Despite new endeavors, the coffee chain has seen a decrease in sales this year, except in China where sales have risen 8% compared to last year. CNN.com notes that Starbucks opens a new store in China “every 15 hours on average.”

In 2019, Chicago is expected to get an even-larger Reserve Roastery, said to be a whopping “43,000-square-feet.”

from The Points Guy