PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I’m telling you why: Starbucks is coming to Camp Humphreys, and right in time for Christmas if all goes well.
A spacious Starbucks that will have outlets for free Internet hook-up will open inside the mall area of the AAFES shopping complex, which houses the post exchange, food court and a variety of concessionaires.
Officials think the Starbucks will be ready to open a few days before Christmas.
“It’ll be a nice Christmas gift for the community,” said George B. Ricker, Army and Air Force Exchange Service general manager at Camp Humphreys.
“In the 14 months that I’ve been here, Starbucks is the number one request that I get from soldiers,” Ricker said. “So we’re happy to finally bring it to them … they want the Starbucks that they see at home — which is go in, sit down, bring your laptop, do homework or do e-mail — while they enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry.”
The Humphreys Starbucks will occupy 1,230 square feet, making it bigger than the 990-square-foot Starbucks at nearby Osan Air Base.
“Our vision is that it be the best Starbucks in Korea, serving the U.S. military installations,” Ricker said. “We want it to be the best, because we believe Humphreys deserves the best.”
Camp Humphreys is to be tripled in size in coming years under an expansion that will make it the U.S. military’s flagship installation on the peninsula under a South Korea-U.S. agreement.
The new Starbucks will move into space currently used by three concessionaires — a laundry-dry cleaners, a clothing alterations shop and a custom shoe shop.
Those businesses were to be moved by Monday, at which time workers were expected to begin renovating the vacated space, Ricker said.
The laundry-dry cleaner and the alterations concessionaires will relocate to a shared space in Building 449, which also houses the post’s military clothing sales store.
The custom shoe shop will move to space in Building 575, the Sorak concession mall, which also houses a custom suit tailor and an AAFES shoppette.
Having the alterations shop located with military clothing sales will be an advantage for servicemembers, Ricker said.
“Because the soldier buys his ACUs, he needs his patches sewn on; he can do it in the same building now,” he said.
Having the custom shoe shop located with the custom suit tailor also will bring added convenience to community members, Ricker said.
“We’ve been working on this for close to a year, so it’ll be nice to see it open and customers happy,” Ricker said.
