The first Stars Coffee location opened in Moscow, built on the footprint of the American Starbucks business that exited Russia, debuting on Novy Arbat.
The network’s logo remains similar to the old version, featuring a circle with two stars at the sides, Stars above and Coffee below. One of the owners, Timati (Timur Yunusov), explained that the two-tailed mermaid was replaced by the Swan Princess, which resembles her in the new branding.
A fresh tagline appeared on the Stars Coffee profile: “Bucks gone, stars left.”
Screenshots of the main page on the new website surfaced on social media, where the cafe promoted the claim of serving the “best coffee.”
Alcohol and waiters
The chain plans to operate two additional formats beyond the standard coffee shop model.
There will be a second format called Stars and Redbox, a collaboration with the Asian restaurant chain led by Timati and Anton Pinsky.
“It will be a sushi bar fused with a coffee shop. There will be several premium locations closer to full restaurants featuring an alcohol menu”, Timati said.
“Two or three premium cafes will operate with waiter service and a restaurant-like concept, offering alcohol. The first is planned for Aviapark mall”, added business partner Anton Pinsky.
Starbucks did not offer alcohol sales in Russia.
What’s on the menu?
Following the rebrand, the restaurants retained a range of coffees alongside sandwiches, salads, pastas, pastries, and desserts.
The updated Starbucks cups will still be labeled, but the guest name will be printed by a thermal printer rather than handwritten. Regular beverages from Starbucks will not be on the menu.
“We are not copying Starbucks. We are not reopening. This is a completely different business, and the goal is to grow our impact with the products we offer now. There is no need for comparisons”, Pinsky stated.
The Stars Coffee team promises that coffee quality will stay high. Timati noted that milk and syrups will come from Russian suppliers, while coffee will be sourced from Latin America and Africa.
Pinsky stated plans to launch a dedicated coffee roasting facility. “We are evaluating production sites and have ordered equipment, aiming for a late September or early October start.”
The updated menu includes espresso, americano, and filter coffee, plus chilled frappes in various styles, several lattes, and hot chocolate. Prices range from 140 rubles for a small espresso to 395 rubles for a large frappe. The Chef’s Dishes section features two sandwiches priced 365–590 rubles, along with pasta and salads.
The new owners indicated that food would be prepared on site rather than frozen earlier, and the frappuccino may be replaced by frappuccito, with its taste adjusted. Timati pledged price parity across all Stars Coffee locations, maintaining the typical spend customers expect for coffee and a bite to eat.
Expansion plans
The new owners committed to having all Stars Coffee stores open by the end of September and to preserving current jobs.
There were plans for around 130 outlets, with about 90 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and surrounding regions, and about 40 additional openings. The Arbat site would stay active, while St. Petersburg would see roughly 10 more openings, followed by a cadence of two to three new restaurants each day. The next planned location was the Sberbank main office.
Oleg Eskindarov, head of Sindika, the holding company that partnered with Yunusov and Pinsky to acquire Starbucks’ Russian business, suggested that Stars Coffee could expand to new cities not previously served by Starbucks. He added that if financial targets are met, rapid expansion would begin in new locations cities could be chosen. Moscow and St. Petersburg would remain central bases.
The owners explained that Starbucks could not re-enter the occupied locations. They noted Starbucks operated in Russia through a Turkish franchise, and that the business was purchased from the franchisee directly. The Stars Coffee mobile app was slated to launch, and unused Starbucks locations would be repurposed for Stars Coffee use.
Starbucks halted product shipments to Russia in response to the military operation in Ukraine and closed its stores there in early 2024. By May, the company confirmed its exit from the Russian market after 15 years, leading to the closure of about 130 stores. The Stars Coffee venture was formed through the combined purchase of Starbucks assets by Timati, Anton Pinsky, and Sindika. Market estimates of the deal varied, with analysts noting a price tag that could fall within a broad range depending on asset valuations and concessions (attribution: industry observers and market analytics reports).