StarbucksHave you ever walked around a city and thought ‘you know what, this place could really do with even more Starbucks’?
Me neither, but who cares what I think, because here come the coffee giants with a giant coffee shop, the giant-est one yet at four storeys, 43,000 square foot and, well, basically a whole Starbucks building. Sorry, that should be one venti building, or is it trenta? Extra grande?
It’s called the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, and will open on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago on November 15 this year. It’s the sixth of its kind, joining other huge roasteries in Milan, New York, Seattle, Shanghai and Tokyo, though the Chicago store is said to be the largest so far.
StarbucksAccording to the coffee company, the Roastery will feature ‘an immersive experience dedicated to roasting and brewing small-batch Starbucks Reserve coffee from around the world.’
The 43,000-square-foot Roastery will open its door later this year, located at Michigan Avenue and Erie Street, in Chicago’s Crate and Barrel building.
Gordon Segal, founder of Crate and Barrel, told NBC Chicago:
This building has a unique way of becoming a beacon for a brand, and I can’t think of a better retailer than Starbucks to offer Chicago something new and exciting with its Reserve Roastery.
The huge space isn’t just going to be a massive cafe full of baristas shouting ‘I got a skinny soya orange mocha frappuccino for Charlize’, though. The ‘interactive’ space will also demonstrate a number of different brewing methods, different menus of different varieties of coffee and mixology, and a bakery on site. Blueberries the size of your fist!
The flagship Reserve Roastery opened in Seattle, naturally, in 2014. The Chicago branch will be the third in the US, after New York’s Roastery. Chicago, however, will boast the largest one yet.
PAHoward Schultz, Starbucks’ executive chairman, said:
Having opened our first Starbucks store in Chicago nearly 30 years ago, our first outside of Seattle, this is a very special city for me.
At the time, it was a true test for Starbucks because the Chicago customer is so savvy and discerning about their coffee.
The legendary coffee company announced its plans for the Chicago Roastery in 2017, and added at the time they plan up to 30 Roastery locations around the world, with around 1,000 Reserve stores too.
According to Chicago Business, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago will employ around 200 people.
Just a flat white to go please mate!
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.