Breakfast sandwiches to debut at Starbucks

Starbucks will bring its line of hot, toasted breakfast sandwiches to Michigan and the Toledo area beginning Feb. 8, a Starbucks official said today.

The five sandwiches, prepared on English muffins, will retail for $2.95.

They feature the classic breakfast-food combos of egg and cheese with Black Forest ham, sausage, peppered bacon or lower-fat turkey bacon. A meatless choice with egg, baby spinach and Havarti cheese will also be available.

Most Michigan and Toledo-area Starbucks will carry the sandwiches but the exact number of stores was not available Wednesday, said Joe Dallacqua, regional vice president for Starbucks’ Great Lakes-Northeast region.

Licensed locations such as Starbucks counters in mass-market stores and supermarkets will not participate, he said.

Plans for the Feb. 8 rollout include providing customers with ideal coffee pairings for each sandwich, he said.

Oven-toasted sandwiches were first introduced in Seattle Starbucks stores in April 2003. Markets offering the products include Chicago, which began selling them in mid-2006.