All of the stores are leasing approximately the same amount of retail space. The new Starbucks at 9th and G Streets is 1,200 sf in size, while the Farragut Square location at 1001 Connecticut Avenue has 1,112 sf of space. The Tyson's Corner Center location on Chain Bridge Road is 1,350 sf in size.

"This is one of the top markets in the country for Starbucks," company Regional Marketing Manager for the Mid-Atlantic Shannon Jones tells GlobeSt.Com. "It fits well with Starbucks' demographics." The company's first foray into the East Coast region was with the 1993 openings of outlets in Old Town Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC's Dupont Circle area--not New York City, as some might expect. Now there are three Dupont Circle locations and 120 locations in the Washington, DC metro area.

"Since our entry into the market, the response has been phenomenal," Jones notes. "We've had request after request after request to 'open one in my neighborhood.' " The company also recently opened stores at Bowie, Maryland's Bowie Town Center and Rockville's Potomac Woods, as well as Reston, VA's South Lakes. It appears the Starbucks method of penetrating city after city is proving successful. Starbucks Coffee Company's profit in fiscal 2001 was $181.2 million; a 92% increase over the previous fiscal year. The company has 3,300 locations worldwide.