STARBUCKS Heritage
Every day, Starbucks partners go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with friends and help make the world a little better. It was true when the first Starbucks opened in 1971, and it’s just as true today. Back then, the company was a single store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. From just a narrow shop front, Starbucks offered some of the world’s finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. The name, inspired by Moby Dick, evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. In 1981, Howard Schultz (Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer) had first walked into a Starbucks store. From his first cup of Sumatra, Howard was drawn into Starbucks and joined a year later.