Summary of the historical development of the organizationStarbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 in Seattle's Pike Place Market (Starbucks company profile). The company's original name was Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, later changed to Starbucks Coffee Company. Named after Herman Melville's first mate Moby Dick, Starbucks is the world's leading specialty coffee retailer, roaster and brand with coffee shops in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. Worldwide, approximately 35 million customers visit a Starbucks coffee shop every week (Starbucks Comapy Profile). The first founders of Starbucks were founded by English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by Alfred Peet, whom they knew personally, to open their first store in Pike Place Market. The shop originally focused more on selling beans and equipment than selling brewed coffee. After that first year, they purchased the beans directly from farmers before roasting them. The company remained small and regional for years, and there wasn't much of a specialty coffee market nationwide. The original Starbucks location was at 2000 Western Avenue from 1971 to 1976. That store then moved in 1912 to Pike Place where it is still open. During the first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans and then began purchasing it directly from farmers (Jerry Baldwin Bio). Howard Schultz's first experience was similar to that of most customers who enter a Starbucks store. When he first walked into a Starbucks Coffee Company store in 1981, he fell in love. Schultz didn't fall in love with the carefully chosen coffee beans that produce the coffee, similar to Starbucks' new customers.