Starbucks will open its first drive-through outlet on the island of Ireland in the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast.

It is expected to be open by January 2017, according to Belfast Live. Drive-through Starbucks stores are common across the US.

"The decision by Starbucks to choose Connswater as its first location in Northern Ireland for a drive- through store demonstrates the confidence that retailers have in the scheme and its strategic location in east Belfast," said Laura McCarthy, asset manager for Killultagh, the firm who own the center.

The development is still subject to planning permission but construction of the 3,300 square foot outlet is due to begin in October.

Ireland's first Starbucks opened in Dundrum Town Centre in 2005 - its presence has grown steadily across the Republic of Ireland since then.

With the rapid spread of the chain across Dublin it will be interesting to see if similar plans are unveiled south of the boarder.

The big picture

Last month, Starbucks cited political and social unrest in the US and abroad as contributing factors to the company missing earning targets for the third quarter in a row.

It referred to the quarter as an "anomaly" and said that instability and terror threats affected the firm's performance, Starbucks also said that there has been a "profound weakening in consumer confidence" among its customers.

Chief Executive Howard Schultz said, "In Starbucks’s 24 years of public life, I can’t recall a quarter quite like [this one]" in a conference call discussing the results.

"I think we have a situation where you have a very uncertain [US] election, you have domestic civil unrest with regard to race, and I think the issues around terror have created a level of anxiety - so we are no longer looking at just an economic downturn, there are a number of things that we are facing as citizens and I think the direction of the country," he continued.