In the next six weeks, customers at Belmont’s Star Market at 535 Trapelo Rd. will not only be able to purchase their favorite package of Starbucks-brand coffee beans, they can get an iced vanilla latte on their way out.

According to staff at Star, a small Starbucks Coffee cafe will open in early September in a location near the flower department in the front of the store.

Those in the know said the Starbucks will be a licensed store owned and operated by an approved licensee, the Shaw’s Supermarket group, a 155-store group based in West Bridgewater.

A nearby example of such an arrangement is the Starbucks in the Target store in the Watertown Mall. Other familiar locations include inside airports, shopping food courts, college campuses, hospitals and even cruise ships. Eight years ago, Quincy-based Stop & Shop signed a contract with Starbucks, placing the chain’s licensed stores inside a limited number of supermarkets. 

While several licensed locations are fully operational stores, many are kiosks with a limited number of retail items such pastries or coffee selections.

According to the Starbuck’s website, “[t]hese retail locations are staffed by the licensee’s employees and they follow Starbucks training guidelines including beverage quality, store cleanliness, and creating the Starbucks Experience for our customers.”

“Through these locations, we are able to significantly increase customer accessibility to our products and brand, which, from a shareholder perspective, is also valuable because of the profit it contributes to the organization,” states Starbucks.

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