Posted on: Thursday, March 15, 2001

Café Starbucks to open in French-speaking Quebec

Bloomberg News Service

MONTREAL — Starbucks Corp. has teamed with a Quebec pizza franchiser to open as many as 75 coffee shops in the francophone province, marking the first time the biggest coffee-shop chain will modify its name for cultural reasons.

The first "Café Starbucks Coffee" opened last week in Montreal with a blend that appeals to Quebecers' tastes for a stronger coffee, according to company officials.

Starbucks, which operates 3,333 stores in North America, is modifying its name for the first time to avoid attracting attention from Quebec language officials, who make sure that French is more prominent than English on outdoor signs.

Starbucks is "an Anglo brand," said Michael Aronovici, president of Vision Café Inc., Starbucks' Montreal licensing partner. Aronovici is associated with Interaction Restaurants Inc., which also runs 38 Pizza Hut restaurants in Quebec.

"The reason we're getting involved is because it's our intention to make it a great Quebec brand, too," he said.