[Exclusive] Starbucks Changes Business License to General Restaurant to Sell Cocktails

Busan Haeundae X The Sky Branch
Regular Restaurant, Not a Snack Bar

Starbucks has completed the process of changing its business license from a ‘rest food service establishment’ to a ‘general food service establishment’ in order to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages at its Busan Haeundae store, the X the SKY branch.

According to our investigation on the 8th, Starbucks has completed the process of changing the business classification of its Busan Haeundae X the SKY branch, which was licensed as a ‘rest food service establishment,’ to a ‘general food service establishment’ to sell manufactured beverages containing alcohol by the end of this month. Under the Food Sanitation Act, general food service establishments are allowed to sell alcoholic beverages and permit drinking on the premises, whereas rest food service establishments are not allowed to sell alcohol.

Until now, Starbucks stores have operated under the business model of rest food service establishments, selling coffee, tea, ice cream, and other prepared foods. However, to manufacture and sell products containing alcohol as they do now, they must obtain permission to change their business classification to a general food service establishment.

Starbucks Haeundae X the SKY branch, which opened in November 2020, is the ‘highest Starbucks in the world.’ Located on the 99th floor of the LCT Landmark Tower in Haeundae-gu, Busan, this store offers both a Seaside View and a City View, allowing customers who visit this location to enjoy expansive views of Haeundae Beach, Gwangandaegyo Bridge, Busan Harbor Bridge, Igidae, Dalmaji Hill, Dongbaek Island, and other major attractions and nightscapes of Busan.

Only customers who pay the 27,000 KRW admission fee for adults to use the X the SKY observatory can access this Starbucks store.

If Starbucks’ sale of alcoholic beverages at its Busan store proves successful, it is possible that other coffee specialty stores, including Starbucks, may follow suit and change their business licenses. Twosome Place is already putting effort into developing alcoholic beverage menus.

At the end of last year, Twosome Place offered limited sales of cakes and highballs containing ‘Glenfiddich 12 Year,’ one of the world’s top three single malt whiskies. The cake included whiskey in chocolate ganache and mascarpone fresh cream, and the highball was made with Glenfiddich whiskey and lemon. They also sold ‘Stollen,’ a German-style bread containing nuts and dried fruits aged with whiskey. At that time, Twosome Place’s three alcoholic products were sold only at some stores in Seoul and the Gyeonggi area. All of these 20 or so stores were general food service establishments licensed to handle and sell alcoholic beverages.