12 Places Around the World Where Starbucks Is Banned, Shunned, or Basically Unsuccessful

In the land of flat whites (espresso with microfoam), there is a sea of independently owned cafes, particularly in the business capital of Perth (home to just under 2 million residents) and the nearby city of Fremantle (pop. around 32,000). No Starbucks in sight!

Because it was part of the British monarchy until 2021, it should not be surprising that this densely populated Caribbean island appears to be more about tea than coffee. There are only two Starbucks cafes for 281,200 residents—one opened in 2021 and the other only last year in Christ Church, with a drive-thru. However, there is rarely a long line of motorists.

In 2006, this coastal community passed an ordinance banning chain stores in its downtown area, which would include Starbucks. However, there is one place to get Starbucks drinks in Nantucket: an unassuming spot inside the Nantucket Meat & Fish Market. Otherwise, you have to travel off island, by ferry or plane, to the Massachusetts communities of Falmouth, Plymouth, Hyannis, or Harwich.

A wildly popular summer-travel destination for Wisconsinites and Chicagoans might require some cold-brewed java to fuel up for a bicycle ride or kayak trip. But that wouldn’t jive with the throwback, small-town vibe that attracts people here, now would it? There is one Starbucks in Sturgeon Bay, the Door County peninsula’s largest town and the southernmost gateway city—in a Target store.

Espresso is Italy’s unofficial drink and comes with its own culture. So, why would this Old World city say “yes” to an American adaption? And yet, in 2018, Starbucks did a very bold thing by opening its 25,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery (an average Starbucks café on steroids) in Milan’s Piazza Cordusio. There are now six other Starbucks in the Milan region (including one in Milan’s airport)—still not a stronghold, but gaining momentum. As of last fall, there were only 20 Starbucks cafes in all of Italy.

Not only are there zero Starbucks cafes in Cuba, but you won’t find many of the American fast-food imports commonly found in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as KFC. The reasons have to do with U.S.-Cuba relations and can best be summed up as this: U.S. citizens and U.S. banks are barred from doing business in Cuba. Fortunately, plenty of locals know how to make a fine café Cubano and it’s not hard to find a café in which to linger.

OFAC sanctions against Iran date back to 1979—when radicals seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took people hostage, and subsequent sanctions over the years, including during the Iran-Iraq War—and prevent U.S. citizens (including Starbucks) from investing in Iran. That said, coffee consumption in Iran is growing among younger generations. They just have to look beyond Starbucks. Iran is the world’s second-most sanctioned country (after Russia), so there won’t be a Starbucks there anytime soon, if ever.

Anyone who’s spent time in the Last Frontier State knows that locals love their coffee. Starbucks doesn’t have the same cache as in downtown Chicago or the Los Angeles area, where you schedule a meeting or kick back with a good book. Most of the state’s Starbucks are in grocery stores (like Safeway, Target, or Fred Meyer), in the Anchorage airport, or on military bases, offering to-go service. There’s even one in the charming town of the North Pole where we’re assuming Santa Claus fuels up for the long journey each Christmas Eve.

Starbucks does not have much of a presence in the Middle East. As this 2014 blog post on Starbucks’ website declares, and in response to rumors, Starbucks is not a political organization and does not support the Israeli Army or Israeli government in any way. Starbucks cited “ongoing operational challenges” for the reason it pulled out of Israel in 2003.

Given the rising popularity of Croatia as a travel destination among Americans, you would think there’d be one Starbucks, even if it’s sharing land with a “Game of Thrones” filming site in Dubrovnik. Whenever a blogger or journalist reignites the “why no Starbucks in Croatia” topic online, it comes to the same conclusion: Starbucks would be a weak entrant in the country’s robust café culture.

Starbucks is not in Pakistan yet but could be soon. The website for “Starbucks1”—with a note that “stores are opening soon”—features a nearly identical Starbucks logo. The “Our Company” description states that the country’s Starbucks locations are jointly run between the U.S. head office in Laurel, New Jersey, and the Pakistan office in Islamabad. Five executives are listed as contacts. More to come? Stay tuned.

This is among the states with the fewest number of Starbucks locations: around 25. Considering this is not a micro-sized state and is home to 1.783 million people, it’s shocking, to say the least. But if you really need your Starbucks fix, head to stores in Summersville, Clarksburg, Snowshoe Mountain Resort or Sutton (at Flatwoods Factory Stores), for example.