The resort city of Montego Bay welcomed the latest Starbucks coffee house during a grand opening on the ‘Hip Strip’ (Gloucester Ave) on Monday, making the highly sought-after brand an attraction on the famous strip.

The 1,200-square-foot space sits within the protected Montego Bay Marine Park at the iconic Doctor’s Cave Beach, one of the most treasured and renowned beaches in Jamaica. The store features distinctly local design elements such as pickled-wood vaulted ceilings and louvered windows, preserved from their original state and enriched to create an authentic beachside café experience.

An added feature of the outlet is the availability of Starbucks Reserve Jamaica Blue Mountain whole bean coffee — a rare and exceptional coffee grown by Amber Estate farms in the Blue Mountain region, and roasted exclusively at the state-of-the-art Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the company’s hometown of Seattle in the United States.

Starbucks has operated stores in the Caribbean since 2002, when it opened its first store in Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan. It now operates in six Caribbean markets, including: The Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and now Jamaica.

Starbucks stores in Jamaica are operated by Caribbean Coffee Baristas Ltd, a joint venture between Ian Dear — the chief executive officer of leading restaurant management and franchise operator Margaritaville Caribbean Group — and Adam Stewart, who is also the deputy chairman and CEO of Sandals Resorts International.

The company plans to open up to 15 other locations across Jamaica over the next three years, starting with one in Kingston early 2018.

The Jamaica Observer West brings you highlights:

— Mark Cummings