SEATTLE-Starbucks Coffee Co. is making its moves in Greece. This week, the locally-based coffee retailer signed a joint venture agreement with Marinopoulos Brothers to open retail locations in Athens and throughout the country. The first store is scheduled to open in Athens in the fall of this year.

“Starbucks is the brand with the highest potential in the specialty coffee sector. Together with our local market expertise, and the experience gained from our partnerships with such leading international companies as Carrefour, Sephora and Marks and Spencer, we have signed a very exciting deal today,” Panos Marinopoulos, Marinopoulos Brothers board director said in a news release.

In addition to Greece, Starbucks recently announced its plans to open its first stores in Germany and Spain. Starbucks celebrated the opening of its first store in Vienna, Austria, at the end of 2001, following the entry into its first continental European market, Switzerland, in March 2001.