Starbucks to launch its new lunch menu

CHICAGO - Starbucks on Wednesday unveiled a new lunch menu featuring healthier sandwiches and salads that it plans to debut in Chicago on April 11.

The menu, called Mercato, initially will launch in about 100 stores in the city, but Starbucks said it expects to expand to other U.S. markets.

The new menu is part of a bigger plan by the coffee giant to capitalize on strong lunch sales. Starbucks announced a plan late last year to double food sales to about $5 billion by 2021. Starbucks said its food business has grown by 150 percent in the past four years.

Chicago is an increasingly important market for Starbucks to test various initiatives, such as high-end stores and stand-alone Princi bakeries.

The announcement was made at the onset of Starbucks's annual meeting in Seattle, led by Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz for his last time in the role of CEO. He is relinquishing the role on April 3 to current Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson.

Early in the meeting, Schultz also addressed some of the negative voices that have grown louder in recent weeks as some analysts expressed concern over Starbucks's mobile order and pay hiccups, which caused long lines and hurt sales.

Schultz, referring those who believe the company has lost its luster, said, 'They don't know what they're talking about.”