People carrying their dogs entered the Starbucks Guri Galmae DT store as soon as the store opened on Jan. 5 at 7 a.m. Located in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, it is the first Starbucks store in South Korea where customers can freely bring their pets.
Park Chae-eun, 30, visited the store early in the morning with her 5-month-old poodle, Bori, and took pictures at the photo zone. “I heard that Starbucks’ pet-friendly store is opening near my house, so I came just in time for the opening,” she said. “I think Bori can meet other dogs here and train socialization.”
The store has two floors and 142 seats, with a 50-pyeong or about 165.3 sq.m Pet Zone on the second floor for customers with pets. In accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, entry for pets is limited to dogs and cats, and pets are not allowed on the first floor where beverage preparation takes place. Customers with pets can access the pet zone on the second floor through a special entrance outside the first floor.
In the Pet Zone, the Waiting Room captures the attention of the customers. The Waiting Room is an area where pet owners can put their pets while they go to the first floor to get a drink or go to the restroom. There are six spaces for small dogs and six spaces for medium-sized dogs.
Lim Soo-yoon, 37, from Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, visited alone with her dog and said the waiting room made her feel less anxious. “I felt more at ease because I could put my dog Yeontan, 5, in the waiting room and go get a drink,” Lim said. “Many cafés make you keep your dog tied outside when you get a drink, so I feel anxious to leave him outside.”
The seven “booth seats” were popular and filled up quickly. The booth seat is a space separated from the outside where pets and their owners can spend time together. To prevent monopolization, a stopwatch is placed in front of the booths, which are only available for two hours.
Some of the large dogs that stopped by the store had to leave immediately. This is because there are breed and weight restrictions for safety reasons. Only small to medium-sized dogs weighing 25 kilograms or less are allowed, and five breeds of aggressive dogs – Tosa, Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Rottweiler – are prohibited under the Animal Protection Act.
Pet owners highly appreciate the availability of water bowls, pee pads, and bags for pets. However, they expressed disappointment that there was no puppuccino (pet-friendly drink). “If you are a true pet owner, you want to enjoy yourself with your dog, and it’s a shame that there’s no puppuccino,” a customer in their 50s said. “One-year-old Lance thinks he gets a cup of puppuccino when he sits on the pet chair, but he is sulky because he doesn’t.”
