If the queues outside the Starbucks outlets here are not enough to assure you, a quick stroll along Mumbai?s Colaba causeway will surely convince you about the popularity of the latest American cafe entrant to India. Causeway, the shopping hub of south Mumbai, is strewn with stalls selling t-shirts embellished with Starbucks logo, clearly on the way to becoming a rage.
Five months into the first Starbucks store in India, people still seem enamoured of the brand name. While entering the flagship caf? in the historic Elphinstone Building, we notice a curious father-son duo chatting with the watchman, who, with great pride, describes the crowds during the initial months. ?For the first two-and-a-half months, about 400 people used to come here and wait for an hour or two,? he says. ?Now there are no queues outside, but it is packed every night.?
Located in the well-heeled neighbourhood of South Mumbai, the 4,500 sq ft store has been tastefully done up with artefacts sourced from various parts of the country, evidently very different from the other Starbucks cafes in India (Delhi and Mumbai) and abroad. Also, it is about three times the size of an average Starbucks store in the Unites States.
Being a weekday evening, the place is brimming with young men and women coming in for a cup after work. But the sounds of ?say cheese? and click still haven?t stopped. ?I came here on a weekday and still found all the tables occupied. The coffee was average, but completely loved the interiors, with different types of couches,? says Manasi Chokshi, a 24-year-old architect.
On one part of the wall, carefully chosen photos depicting India?s cultural mix are hung. On another side, a set of ancient Indian chests are decked up, while the Starbucks ?goddess? peers down from another angle. Not only is the d?cor rustic, even the menu has been designed to suit the Indian palette.
The menu, which has about 40 items and starts at R80, is laced with some Indian items like ?murg kathi wrap? and ?murg tandoori kebab sandwich?, apart from the global Starbucks line-up. An espresso at the store costs R80 for the smallest portion, going up to R165.
While the two Starbucks cafes in south Mumbai do not have other cafes located in the vicinity, the other two outlets in the city ? one in Powai and the other in the suburb of Goregaon ? have other cafes like Costa Coffee and Barista close by.
?The Goregaon outlet is better than Costa Coffee, but it still does not beat the outlet in Horniman circle. But the best part of the experience is the service, that is better than any other caf?. Hope the service remains the same, going forward,? says Sandeep Ramesh, a marketing professional.
But some people don?t seem to be perturbed by the hoopla around. ?It is too much hype over just a cup of coffee,? says Pushak Gupte, a branding executive.
A person sums it up on Twitter: ?I am at Starbucks Mumbai, is it compulsory to click a picture??