Starbucks opens first Smart Lounge in Latin America, in Santiago

Starbucks has turned its Bandera store in Santiago into something more than a place to grab a latte and leave. The company opened its first Smart Lounge in Latin America there on May 28, using the Chile location to test a format that tries to satisfy two very different habits at once: the coffeehouse as hospitality venue and the coffeehouse as work site.

The store is divided into two distinct experiences. The lower level keeps the feel of a classic Starbucks café, while the upper floor is built around communal worktables, private meeting rooms and individual focus areas. Starbucks said the new format was designed to elevate connection, inspiration and idea creation, and it framed Santiago’s financial district as the right place to launch a concept aimed at professionals who need flexible space to work, meet and connect. In Chile, the store is operated by Alsea.

The Smart Lounge idea is not new to Starbucks, but Santiago is the first time it has landed in Latin America. Starbucks first launched the format in Tokyo on July 30, 2020, working with Think Lab on a store that included enclosed solo working areas and a collaborative meeting zone. Customers there could reserve space through Think Lab’s smartphone app and pick up drinks from the first-floor café with Mobile Order and Pay. That Tokyo template makes the point clearly: this format was built for business users, teleconferences and quiet productivity as much as for coffee.

In Chile, the rules make the work-first intent even more explicit. Starbucks’ terms and conditions say the Smart Lounge spaces are intended for individual work, study or occasional meetings, and room use depends on availability and compliance with the store’s rules. That puts the company in the business of managing time, access and behavior inside the café, not just selling seats and drinks.

The opening also fits a broader pattern in Santiago. In 2022, Starbucks and Alsea announced that Paseo Los Dominicos in Santiago had become the company’s first Greener Store in Latin America and the Caribbean, part of a regional push that Starbucks said would extend to all new stores by the end of 2023. Taken together, the Greener Store milestone and the new Smart Lounge show how often Santiago has served as Starbucks’ test bed in the region. What is changing now is the expectation of what a coffee shop is supposed to be: not just welcoming, but workable.