Milestone opening: The Pavilion is Starbucks’ 2,500th store in the EMEA region |
NETHERLANDS. The largest Starbucks airport store in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region has launched at Amsterdam Schiphol’s Lounge 2.
Starbucks and HMSHost have partnered for the opening of the 470sq m The Pavilion. It is the first store in the Netherlands to serve the Starbucks Evenings menu, which features a “curated assortment” of wine, beer and sharable small plates.
Another special feature of The Pavilion – the 2,500th Starbucks store in the EMEA region – is that it will serve Starbucks Reserve coffees, a collection of small lot coffees from around the world.
“This new store is a celebration of all that we have achieved in the Netherlands since we opened our first store in Schiphol in 2007, bringing the latest in-store innovation for our customers,” commented Starbucks EMEA VP Branded Solutions Arjan Oudejans.
“We can’t wait to open and welcome local Dutch and international airport travellers to try our Reserve coffees and new Evenings menu in this beautiful store, influenced by Dutch culture and design.”
HMSHost International CEO Walter Seib said the Evenings menu was “perfectly aligned to our desire to find creative ways to meet customers’ demands at airports all over the world. We’re sure travellers flying in and out, or transferring at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will love the experience of drinking great coffee in a beautifully designed environment, enjoying the option to eat a hot meal and enjoy a drink.”
The Starbucks Reserve coffees will be served at a 15 metre long island bar which is designed to act as a “coffee theatre”. The first Reserve coffees to be featured will be Nicaragua Maracaturra, Ethiopia Guji and Kenya Kaganda.
HMSHost said the Evenings menu had been localised, and will include a cheese platter featuring all Dutch cheeses as well as a Dutch free range beef chili served with sour cream and tortilla chips.
The store offers a 360-degree view of the surrounding lounge and onto the runway. The displayed Starbucks wordmark is made out of woven black steel wire and green leathers sleeves with Dutch typography and is the largest in the world.
The Pavilion also incorporates Dutch design traditions, with a ceiling reminiscent of the Dutch polder landscape that is visible while flying in and out of Schiphol. Inspired by Amsterdam’s diamond industry, the “bean wall” showcases the world’s “most rare and exquisite” coffees, according to the companies.
