BLACKFOOT — Popular coffee company Starbucks is opening its first Blackfoot location later this year.

The new Starbucks will be located at 1221 Parkway Drive. Eric Wall, contractor for the project, said construction of the building is finished and the process to obtain a tenant permit is underway.

“That will be done in April,” Wall said about the permitting process.

The building is a little over 2,300 square feet, according to the building permit. It is unclear how many people the new coffeehouse will employ at this time.

“I believe they are going to open in May,” Wall said about the Blackfoot Starbucks location.

According to the company’s website, Starbucks’ story began in 1971 along Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, where it opened its first store offering fresh-roasted coffee beans, tea and spices. The company’s name was inspired by the classic tale “Moby-Dick,” evoking the seafaring tradition of early coffee traders. In 1987, Starbucks transformed from a coffee bean retailer into a coffeehouse, swapping brown aprons for the now-iconic green ones.

The company has since expanded globally, opening its first international location in Japan in 1996, followed by Europe in 1998 and China in 1999. Today, Starbucks serves millions of customers each week in tens of thousands of neighborhoods worldwide. The company emphasizes its commitment to quality coffee sourcing, working directly with farmers who tend to coffee cherries, and employing master roasters and trained baristas to deliver what they call “the perfect cup of coffee.”

Starbucks describes its mission as nurturing “the limitless possibilities of human connection” with every cup, conversation and community it serves. The company also emphasizes its social responsibility initiatives, striving to be “people positive” and “resource positive” by investing in partners, coffee farmers, communities, and environmental sustainability.

More information about the new Blackfoot Starbucks will be made available as its opening date approaches.