The signs have been put up outside the island’s first public Starbucks cafe.
The American chain is to operate from a site on the corner of Victoria Street and Duke Street in Douglas.
Notices outside the premises simply say it will open ‘soon’.
The premises were home to an estate agency until recently and was the base for Gelling’s Office World before that.
It’s just a few doors down from rival Coffee Republic, while Costa, the biggest coffee shop chain in the UK, operates as a franchise business in a number of locations in the Isle of Man already.
Among its venues are Strand Street and the Sea Terminal in Douglas, Parliament Street in Ramsey and the airport.
Starbucks’ strategy in many markets is to open a number of shops in clusters, saving money with economies of scale and forcing the competition out of business.
That often spells bad news for indigenous alternatives, who don’t have the buying power of a big chain.
The lure of the established, international brand also entices some customers.
Whether Starbucks is eyeing other Manx venues to adopt a clustering strategy here is not known. But since its costs for transporting merchanise here and training staff will be higher simply because of the island’s relatively remote location, it seems likely.
The operator of the Starbucks site in Douglas, Crema, has applied for planning permission for outside seating areas at the Victoria Street venue.
In this week’s {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/burglar-suffers-an-attack-of-conscience-1-7722729|Isle of Man Examiner} one of Starbucks’ biggest rivals, Caffe Nero, has denied that it has a Manx legal entity to avoid tax.
The claim was made in a {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/welsh-town-to-copy-isle-of-man-model-in-tv-tax-haven-documentary-1-7574869|BBC2 documentary} that featured local councillor Cat Turner and incurred the wrath of {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/bell-hits-out-at-tax-haven-comments-on-television-programme-1-7691648|Chief Minister Allan Bell.}
Would you ditch your local cafe in favour of going to Starbucks? Email opinions@newsiom.co.im