Newsweek Magazine has ranked Casablanca’s Franklin Roosevelt Villa Starbucks in Anfa as one of the most beautiful Starbucks in the world. The Starbucks was one of nine chosen among a list of 30,000 locations. It was evaluated mainly on design and has a French-Moroccan modernist touch woven into its space. The coffee bar was designed to reflect a European atmosphere and the interior has multiple rooms with unique eclectic and vintage styles. Customers can sip their lattes and coffees on the outdoor patio while listening to the sounds of a trickling fountain. The garden space is well manicured and decorated with Mediterranean plants.
Starbuck’s Franklin Roosevelt Villa location in Casablanca’s Anfa district is considered the oldest part of the city and was named by the Romans under Augustus in 10th century BC. They established the port of Anfus. The actual land that Anfa sits on dates back even further to the Middle Ages; it was first settled by the Berbers. It became an independent kingdom until it was ruled by the Barghawata from 744 CE and conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Anfa became an important port and safe harbor for pirates. The Portuguese used it as a military fortress from 1515. Today Anfa is considered the most upper-class and westernized part of Casablanca. Anfa is a Berber word and means “the top.”