POPULAR US coffee chain Starbucks will soon be opening an outlet in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The news was first revealed last month during a launch of one of the company’s stores over in Jamaica, however no formal announcement has yet been made in the TCI.

Loop News Jamaica reported on July 4 that Sandals Resorts International’s deputy chairman, Adam Stewart and Margaritaville Caribbean Group’s chairman, Ian Dear recently came together to form Caribbean Coffee Baristas and that they plan to bring the coffee franchise to TCI as well as the Cayman Islands this year.

Loop reported that the opening of the two stores is set to occur by the end of this year and by 2020 the franchise intends to have a total of 15 Starbucks operating in the Caribbean region, five of which are already located in Jamaica.

Stewart reportedly said the following to Loop News: “Both Turks and Cayman fall under our licensing agreement. By the end of the year, we will open a Starbucks store in both Turks and Cayman.

“We plan to roll out at least three stores in Cayman. We are looking to grow the franchise across the Caribbean and see to it that our teams are both professional and successful.

“Our partnership works brilliantly. Ian [Dear] was instrumental in building Margaritaville and has operations in islands of the Caribbean.

“From my group’s perspective, we are not always in the same islands as Ian so this venture gives us both an expanded footprint and that’s what I think Starbucks saw in us – our reach across the region.”

Stewart and Dear came together two and a half years ago to bring Starbucks to Jamaica. The pair recently sent 12 Jamaican coffee farmers to Costa Rica to meet with Starbucks’ global director of agronomy to study efficiencies in coffee production.

The Weekly News reached out to Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson for comment on this latest development and to find out whether the Government is aware of how many stores the US company will be opening in the territory.

She stated that when concessions are not requested from the Government by investors, it is only provided with these details as a form of courtesy.

The premier added that to date the Government is not privy to that information but she expects to meet the investors very soon.

Reports in other parts of the media here in the TCI are that the coffee chain will soon be conducting a recruitment drive for their store at Margaritaville in Grand Turk.

It was reported by Magnetic Media on Thursday (August 23) that Starbucks has begun a vigorous advertising campaign for staff.

The news agency reported that the franchise is hoping to attract a qualified store manager, shift supervisor and barista at a job fair on Tuesday, August 28, from 9am to 3pm.

They are calling on Turks and Caicos Islanders to apply for these positions.

While in recent years the TCI has not allowed franchises into the territory, the company’s coffee beans and ground products are sold at major supermarkets across Providenciales.

Starbucks will soon join the recently opened Outback Steakhouse, another US franchise, in the territory.