Some observers questioned whether Starbucks would succeed in a place where, in earlier eras, both the Soviet Union and Great Britain had failed.
But no worry: in its first day of business, Starbucks was a big hit, with the first “barristas” in Kabul working ‘round the clock to serve their new customers, many of whom had just had their beards shaved off at the newly-opened Supercuts next door.
The demand for their product was so strong, in fact, that by the end of the day two more Starbucks stores had opened, all within three blocks of each other.
That made Starbucks the second-most successful business in town–just behind the Gap, which launched four Kabul stores in the hours after the Northern Alliance entered the capital.
The first Blockbuster Video in Kabul, which opened later in the day, had to turn away entertainment-starved Afghans who picked the shelves clean.
“I was disappointed not to find any of the new releases,” one Kabul resident said, speaking from the corner booth of a newly opened Olive Garden. “I guess I’ll go over to Circuit City and buy some new games for my Sony PlayStation.”
A visit to the Kabul Blockbuster revealed that the Aghans had, in fact, rented every title in the store, with the exception of “Town and Country” and “What Planet Are You From?”, two recent duds featuring comedian Gary Shandling.
