Warsaw - Some urbanites may complain of a Starbucks on every corner of their city, but for Warsaw residents the arrival of the world's biggest coffee shop chain means further prestige and worldliness for Poland.

For Andrzej Bacinski, 34, it means the end of an era of wondering when the next world-known brand will finally arrive in the country.

"I remember Poland's first McDonald's, and the lines were so long," Bacinski said. "And this is the end of that era. We've got everything now."

Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation opened its first cafe in Poland on Wednesday, on Warsaw's elegant Nowy Swiat street. Poland is now the second country in Central Eastern Europe to open a Starbucks, after the Czech Republic last year.

The southern city of Wroclaw is next, company officials said - their Starbucks will open later this month.

Further plans for Poland aren't disclosed, but officials say the company looks forward to more openings in the former Soviet bloc and that the region "represents significant growth areas."

Reports show dynamic growth in Poland's coffeehouse sector, with a 30 per cent rise in 2007 alone.

And for Starbucks, that booming market could mean added profits and a new focus - amid the closure of some 600 stores in the United States.

"I think they'll do well here, because it's a well-known brand," said student Suzanna Ring, 16.

Young Poles are still interested in all things American, Ring said, and "Made in the USA" still spells for many better quality and prestige.

But Wednesday's opening was more subdued than the excitement of Poland's first McDonald's in 1992.

That grand opening came just three years after the fall of communism. America was then the mythical land of the strong dollar, fashionable Levi's and John Wayne.

Since then, Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. After years behind the Iron Curtain, Poles say they now feel more European with a growing economy that hasn't been as hard-hit by the financial crisis as many others in Europe.

With their increased spending power, Poles are now less likely to be in awe of all things American. Others say the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's unpopular presidency did their part to tarnish America's image.

"In the 1990s, it was new and there was a rage for American things, but now there's less excitement just because there's more [American products,]" Ring said. "I'd say most young people are interested, but fascination is too strong of a word."

While McDonald's was for many Poles the first taste of America, at the new Starbucks many young people ordered the drinks they came to love during stays in London, or New York.

For some, the prestige of the brand means just as much as the taste of the coffee.

"We've been waiting for a long time ... this sets the town apart," said student Tomasz Swierczewski. "It's prestige and it means Warsaw as a capital is more worldly."

Swierczewski expects the cafe will be most popular among young people and those who have been abroad.

Poland's older generation, however, may still associate the elegant Nowy Swiat street with the quaint cafes that date back to the 1800s.

"Starbucks?" asked an older woman sipping an espresso further down the street. "I haven't heard of it yet." (dpa)