Starbucks Starbucks, along with its partner Delek Group of Israel, closed all six of its locations in Israel, citing "on-going operational challenges" and a "difficult business environment." The Starbucks location in the former imperial palace in Beijing closed in July 2007. The coffee shop had been a source of ongoing controversy since its opening in 2000 with protesters objecting that the presence of the American chain in this location "was trampling on Chinese culture." In July 2008, the company announced it was closing 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cutting U.S. expansion plans amid growing economic uncertainty. On July 29, 2008, Starbucks
Pyongyang (restaurant chain) closure of several restaurants and the repatriation of their staff. In 2016, South Korea announced that 13 restaurant workers had defected from a Pyongyang restaurant chain abroad. Pyongyang (restaurant chain) Pyongyang (Chosongul: 평양관) is a chain of 130 restaurants named after the capital of North Korea in a dozen countries around the world. The restaurants are owned and operated by the Haedanghwa Group, an organisation of the government of North Korea. Most Pyongyang restaurants are found in China near the North Korean border, as well as Beijing and Shanghai. Since the 2000s the chain has been expanding into South East