% Arabica has scaled its boutique coffee shop concept to 16 countries around the world since opening its first store in Kyoto, Japan, in 2014 | Photo credit: David Kristianto

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Japanese boutique coffee chain % Arabica has opened its first store in the US. The 1,500-square-foot store features 14 indoor seats and a further 24 on an outdoor patio. The store also features a ‘green bean corner’, where customers can select single origin green beans to be custom roasted in-store.
 
“I fell in love with the community, and the amazing view of Manhattan,” the brand’s founder, Kenneth Shoji, told Eater New York.
 
Opening its first store in Kyoto, Japan, in 2014, % Arabica currently operates 89 stores across 16 countries via a franchise model, including 44 in China, nine in the UAE and nine in Kuwait, with further sites across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
 
According to its website, the chain will soon open stores in Saudi Arabia, and Canada, with sites in India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey – among others – also in the pipeline.