Starbucks Corp.'s new three-story café in Bogota could be the type of location the coffee-shop chain's customers see more often. Wednesday, the chain opened its first location in Colombia: a 2,700-square-foot store with a heated patio, concrete columns, mirrors on the ceiling and walls of colorful plants.

The Colombian store may serve as a blueprint for the world's biggest coffee-shop operator as it opens more enormous locations. The Bogota café makes use of locally sourced wood, antique- and hammered-brass light fixtures and sells Colombian-inspired food such as cheese sticks and croissants with a sauce similar to dulce de leche. The company declined to disclose how much the new store cost to build.

Starbucks plans to open about 1,500 new stores this fiscal year, including about 600 in its Americas region. In the U.S., Starbucks lists recently opened locations in New Orleans; Anaheim, Calif.; and Orlando, Fla., as "high-design" cafés. There are more than 20,500 Starbucks locations in 65 countries, including about 740 stores in Latin America.

- Bloomberg News