On June 20, 1971, the very first Starbucks opened in Seattle, WA.

Although the coffee conglomerate didn't come to Bismarck until several years later, it's expanded beyond anything that could've been expected when founders Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker had inspirations of selling high-quality coffee beans as they studied at the University of San Francisco. Starbucks was officially founded on March 31, 1971.

In 1987, the founders sold the chain to a former Starbucks manager, Howard Schultz became the CEO and Starbucks expanded outside of the six stores in Seattle. It was at this time, Schultz decided to re-brand the sizes of the Starbucks cups from the run-of-the-mill 'Small-Medium-Large' to 'Short-Tall-Grande.' This came after he was inspired by the community coffee houses in Italy. The 'Venti' was then introduced in the 1990s. Schultz felt that the size names brought in a sense of connection with the culture.

The continued worldwide expansion of Starbucks has made the franchise as popular as ever in 2017. It's a common place for people to meet, work, or start off their day.

Starbucks is often in the news, like with their now traditional holiday cups or the latest drink they've concocted, whether good or bad (*cough* Unicorn Frappucino), they seem to know how to make a statement. Their newest drinks that have just been released, the Berry Prickly Pear Creme and Mango Pineapple Creme, both have real bits of fruit, and upon first review, are not only good tasting, but good for you. Starbucks new CEO (as of April 2017), Kevin Johnson, seems to have come in

Starbucks new CEO (as of April 2017), Kevin Johnson, seems to have come into a promising situation if there ever was one. Today, we say Happy Birthday, Starbucks! May you continue to be our go-to coffee franchise for several years to come.

 

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