Japan’s % Arabica makes Hungary debut with Budapest outlet

% Arabica said the Kiraly Street store (pictured) pays homage to Budapest’s traditional thermal baths | Photo credit: % Arabica

Japan’s % Arabica has debuted in Hungary with a store on Budapest’s bustling Kiraly Street. 
 

Designed by Paris-based architectural studio Ciguë with interior features manufactured by Hungarian ceramics specialist Zsolnay, % Arabica said the store pays homage to Budapest’s traditional thermal baths. 

% Arabica’s Budapest launch was attended by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, who said in a government statement that the new store would benefit tourism from East Asia and China, where close to half of % Arabica’s 208 stores worldwide are located.  
 

“Last year we doubled the number of Chinese tourists visiting Hungary, which has now reached pre-pandemic levels, and last year the number of nights spent in Hungary by Chinese tourists exceeded half a million for the first time. This has contributed greatly to our setting a tourism record, and tourism is making an ever-increasing contribution to the performance of the Hungarian economy,” he said. 
 

% Arabica opened its first store in Kyoto, Japan, in September 2014 and now operates across 29 markets globally. Hungary is the specialty coffee group’s fourth European market after France and Turkey, where it operates single sites, and the UK where it has four stores in London. 

The boutique café chain is planning to significantly scale its European presence over the next two years with a first Spain store expected to open in San Sebastián in the next few months, ahead of launches in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Russia.