<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/starbucks-unveils-epic-35000-square-foot-reserve-roastery-in-chicago/">On November 15, Starbucks will open its sixth global Roastery</a>&nbsp;on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, joining locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo. Each Starbucks Reserve Roastery location is an immersive coffee experience that celebrates the company’s heritage and serves as a tribute to the roasting and craft of coffee. Visitors can see, hear and learn about coffee’s extraordinary journey through unique customer experiences, unparalleled designs and tailored menus featuring unique beverages in each location. Here’s a look at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, around the world.

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Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Chicago: Opening on November 15, the Chicago Roastery spans five floors and 35,000-square-feet making it the company’s largest retail experience. Each floor unveils a new experience, featuring expansive menus of coffee and tea beverages and delectable food selections from boutique Milanese bakery, Princi®. Customers can choose from one of seven brewing methods on the third floor’s experiential coffee bar while watching coffee transport throughout the building in an elegant 56-foot bronze-colored cask. <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/top-10-things-to-know-about-starbucks-chicago-roastery/">It is a tribute to both coffee and the city of Chicago</a>, featuring artwork from Chicago-based artists and exclusive beverages developed in collaboration with award-winning mixologists, found at the fourth floor Arriviamo™ Cocktail Bar.

Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo: Opened as Starbucks fifth Roastery in February 2019, Starbucks Tokyo Roastery is designed to create <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/top-10-things-to-know-about-the-starbucks-reserve-roastery-tokyo/">an enchanting, immersive coffee and retail experience</a>&nbsp;that demonstrates Japan’s deep cultural appreciation of quality, craft and service. In the heart of one of Japan’s most popular travel destinations, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is a tribute to the natural beauty of Japan. The Roastery’s light-wood exterior was designed in collaboration with Kengo Kuma, while the interior was developed by the Starbucks design team, to bring together the best of modern design with the elegance of Japanese craftsmanship. Covering nearly 32,000 square feet (2,966 sq. meters), each of the Roastery’s four floors offer an immersive space for customers to explore, discover and taste the world of coffee with all of their senses.

Starbucks Reserve® Roastery New York: In December 2018, Starbucks opened the New York Roastery bringing our passion for coffee to the most energetic city in the world. Located in the Meatpacking District and inspired by the history of manufacturing in the neighborhood, the Roastery is a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/10-things-to-know-about-the-starbucks-nyc-reserve-roastery/">thoughtfully designed space</a>&nbsp;where every day we are roasting small-lot, single-origin Reserve coffee and blends. The space is designed with immersive and interactive elements to bring guests closer to the craft of coffee, from roasting to brewing. Inside the Roastery is the first Arriviamo Bar in the U.S., which serves cocktails and spirit-frees curated by award-winning mixologist Julia Momose featuring coffee and tea. Visitors can also enjoy freshly baked items from the Italian boutique bakery, Princi.

Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Milan: In September 2018, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/top-10-things-to-know-starbucks-reserve-roastery-milan/">Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan</a>&nbsp;opened inside the historic Postal building in Piazza Cordusio — only streets away from the iconic landmarks of Duomo di Milano, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Teatro alla Scala as the company’s first location in Italy. Designed as a homage to the Italian espresso culture that inspired Howard Schultz 36 years ago to create the Starbucks Experience, the 2,300-square-meter (25,000 sq. ft.) Reserve Roastery showcases the theater of coffee roasting, brewing and mixology in a breath-taking environment in the epicenter of fashion and culture. The Milan Roastery was the first Starbucks location to feature an Arriviamo Bar.

Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Shanghai: Opened as Starbucks second Roastery in December 2017, the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/top-10-things-to-know-about-the-starbucks-reserve-roastery-shanghai/">Shanghai Roastery</a>&nbsp;brought one of our most theatrical experiences to one of the world’s most vibrant cities. Every day, the 30,000-square-foot Starbucks Roastery introduces visitors to a fully immersive coffee wonderland. Visitors get an insider’s digital look at highlights through state-of-the-art augmented reality (AR) technology, including a peek inside of the massive copper roasting cask, details of Starbucks brewing methods and much more. Key design highlights include a two-story copper coffee roasting cask covered with 1,000 hand- carved traditional Chinese chops, or stamps, that tell the story of Starbucks and a 3-D printed tea bar. The Shanghai Roastery is also home to a Princi bakery, the first in Asia.

Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Seattle: In December 2014, Starbucks opened its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2014/starbucks-reserve-roastery-and-tasting-room/">first-ever Starbucks Reserve Roastery</a> in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Located just nine blocks from the original Pike Place Store, the Seattle Roastery is an immersive expression of our passion for coffee and invites customers to experience coffee from bean to your cup. It is the fulfillment of a decade-long dream — a homage to our relentless pursuit of coffee innovation that creates for our customers the most immersive, sensory demonstration of how we source, roast and craft the finest coffee from around the world.

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Starbucks Reserve Roasteries around the world - Starbucks Stories

Stories to inspire and nurture the human spirit

Starbucks Stories

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Starbucks Reserve Roasteries around the world

Check out the stunning Starbucks Reserve Roasteries around the globe.

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Designer Jill Enomoto talks about the most unique and must-see design elements of the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago. At five stories and 35,000 square feet, it’s the largest Starbucks in the world.

On a recent cab ride from the airport into downtown Chicago, the driver gestured toward the gleaming, five-story building at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Erie Street.

“This was the original Crate &amp; Barrel flagship store,” he told his passenger, Jill Enomoto. “And soon it’s going to be the biggest Starbucks in the world.”

In the back seat, Enomoto – the Starbucks vice president leading the design of the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago – grinned. 

“Really?” she said to the driver. “Tell me more about it.”

She absolutely loves moments like that. And while cab drivers and people in general are transfixed by the Chicago Roastery being the world’s largest Starbucks, there’s so much more to talk about than size. 

“We’re bringing Starbucks Reserve coffee, roasting and serving the freshest coffee, and doing it all in one place for people to be able to experience,” she said. “I think that is a beautiful story, and we've given our partners and roasters the space to tell that story.”

The design of the Roastery, which opens to the public Friday, tells the story as well. 

Enomoto, who has been a Starbucks partner since 2008, has worked on a wide range of design projects and initiatives for the company. In 2014, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/liz-muller-designer-of-the-starbucks-milan-roastery/">Liz Muller, the company’s longtime chief design officer</a>, tapped Enomoto to help create the first <a href="https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us/locations/seattle">Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle</a>. Then came Roasteries in Shanghai, Milan and Tokyo. Enomoto and team worked on the New York and Chicago Roastery projects as well.

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“Howard [Schultz] had a vision of creating an experience where we would bring our love and passion for coffee to life. Liz Muller translated that into the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle, which would transform the world of experiential retail. Working side-by-side with Liz on these projects has been incredibly inspiring, and I think they have been very influential on the brand in a very important way. I feel very thankful and fortunate and honored being part of the effort.” 

Two words could perhaps encapsulate the Chicago Roastery design: look up. The most vertical of the roasteries, Chicago was designed to draw the eye, and incoming visitors up, up, up. Starting on the sidewalk outside, Enomoto takes us into and up through the new Chicago Roastery, sharing some of her favorite design features along the way.

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Looking up at the building from the sidewalk outside, even from across the street on Michigan Avenue, there are little glimpses “enticing people to come in and experience what we’ve going on inside” – the light, the streaks of green, the multi-story, bronze-colored coffee cask, the hustle and bustle of Starbucks partners and customers moving through multiple levels of coffee wonderland. The building was constructed as a Crate &amp; Barrel in 1990 by Gordon Segal, who with his wife, Carole, founded the company in 1962. 

“For folks who grew up in Chicago, this building is really quite iconic,” Enomoto said. “I mean, Gordon built this building with beautiful windows and fenestration and light. The skylight he designed to bring light to the different floors, the escalators to bring customers up a multilevel flagship store – it was all pretty groundbreaking. What a fantastic opportunity for Starbucks to come into this very iconic building and put a Roastery in here.”

The multi-story coffee cask

One of the centerpieces of each Starbucks Roastery is a unique cask, the large vessel where coffee beans go to rest and de-gas following the roasting process. The Chicago roastery features a uniquely vertical space, and the design team needed to envision a cask that would literally rise to the occasion. In the center of the building’s glass “barrel” rotunda is the answer: a 56-foot steel and aluminum cask with a bronze finish, the company’s tallest. Perforations in the sculptural receptacle allow visitors to watch roasted beans moving through tubes.

“With the amount of glass and the visibility we get from the corner of Michigan and Erie looking up into the building, the cask sitting in the rotunda really becomes a beacon,” Enomoto said.

Encircling the cask is the first curved escalator in the Midwest, designed to take visitors a 360-degree tour with coffee roasting, brewing and scooping on one side and a view out the curved-glass windows to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on the other.&nbsp; 

“Yes, I think some people will come just to ride the curved escalator,” Enomoto said, laughing. “It’s such a different thing. You kind of feel like a kid again. It's been fun watching people's faces on their way up.” 

All of the six Roasteries have their own custom artistry, and Chicago features three hand-painted murals from local artists.

Every Roastery has a unique Starbucks siren; Chicago’s, located between the third and fourth floors, was painted by local Chicago artist David Anthony Geary. “She’s floating there, weightless in the space, holding a coffee branch. In the daytime, she’s bathed by light from the skylight and she slowly transforms throughout the day,” Enomoto said. 

A progressive mural by artist Eulojio Ortega, nicknamed “The Chicago Muralist,” pays tribute to the farmers and coffee-growing regions of the world. The mural begins in a staircase between the first and second floors and spans all five stories, following the journey of coffee from tree to cherry to harvest.

“We envisioned this five-story experience that would pull people from the ground floor all the way up and tell this really beautiful story about the growing of coffee,” Enomoto said. “Before you know it, you walked five floors and you’ve gotten this really amazing journey, ever upwards.”

On the fourth floor, artist Molly Z painted a mural as a visual love letter to the city of Chicago and its people, architecture, music, art, neighborhoods, lake, river – even its weather. 

A literal love letter from Starbucks to Chicago sits adjacent to Molly Z’s mural. It talks about Chicago as the first city outside the Pacific Northwest that Starbucks brought its coffee to in 1987, and why it has become home to the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery.

“The reception we've had here in this city has been truly, truly fantastic,” Enomoto said. “The momentum is building and it feels good and it's really exciting and I can't wait for the doors to open.”

All of the Roasteries have iconic ceilings designed to support both the overall design as well as seamlessly incorporate functions such as acoustics, HVAC, Wi-Fi, lighting and more. 

The ceiling in Chicago, with rings of outward spiraling shades of green, was designed to symbolize rays of sun touching rolling hills of green coffee trees.&nbsp; The shades of green were inspired by the agricultural nature of growing coffee.&nbsp; Illuminated ‘sunbeams’ radiate outward throughout the floors.

“With the cask in the center and the way the ceiling radiates from there, it creates an almost optical illusion that the ceiling seems tilt upward as you go up each floor towards the cask,” Enomoto said. “And from the outside, you see this really great pop of color on each floor.”

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Photos by Connor Surdi and Matt Glac

New Starbucks Reserve Roastery: A love letter to Chicago - Starbucks Stories

New Starbucks Reserve Roastery: A love letter to Chicago

Designer Jill Enomoto talks about the most unique and must-see design elements of the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago.

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New Starbucks Reserve Roastery: ‘A love letter to Chicago’

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The Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Chicago is sure to exceed expectations in many ways — including the delicious, eye-catching and Instagram-worthy beverages crafted and served throughout the building’s five floors. From the Arriviamo™ Cocktail Bar to the Experiential Coffee Bar, the Chicago Roastery has a unique line up of new and exciting beverages to sip, enjoy — and snap!&nbsp;

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The Union Stock is a thoroughly original cocktail with flavors of deep spice and smoke. Starbucks Reserve® Barrel-Aged Cold Brew is mixed with Cappelletti, Rabarbaro Sfumato, Luxardo Amaro Abano, Rhine Hall Grappa and lemon peel to make every sip as delicious as the last.

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Looking to add some drama to your Cold Brew coffee? Cold Brew, simple syrup and aromatic bitters, applewood smoked à la minute and garnished with an orange peel and Luxardo cherry is a show-stopping beverage. 

Starbucks shandy-like take on the classic Boilermaker with a sidecar of Rhine Hall Beirschnaps. Made with Starbucks Cold Brew, Koval Four Grain Whiskey, Malört, Combier Pamplemousse, honey syrup, Fever Tree Club Soda, Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters, pink grapefruit juice, lemon juice, grapefruit wheel and salt tincture. This elevates the classic Chicago drink in a way you would never expect! Because you’re not a true Chicagoan until you’ve tasted Malört.

Inspired by icy paletas, this taste of Chicago summer is good all year round. This cocktail, exclusively available at the Chicago Roastery, is made with Teavana® Zen Clouds Oolong, El Tesoro Añejo Tequila, mango yogurt syrup, lime juice, lime zest and sea salt tincture, all of which surround a mango popsicle dropped in the cocktail. Take a sip and be transported to the warm weather, no matter what season it is.

The Pour Over Bijou is an ode to Chicago architecture — particularly the Louis Sullivan jewel-box style — and was inspired by the craft of the coffee pour over brewing method. Bright, herbaceous, and earthy, the definitive Chicago pour over cocktail is made with Starbucks Reserve Coffee combined with Nikka Coffey Gin, Carpano Bianco Vermouth, green chartreuse and liqueur Strega.

The science and theater — not to mention flavor — of the siphon brewer is an eye-catching experience. Witness one of coffee’s most dynamic moments in this dazzling sensory experience.

Two shots of espresso are poured over our nitrogen-infused fior di latte (sweet cream) gelato, creating the best expression of a velvety treat with beautiful layers of gelato and espresso swirling together.

A refreshing take on a favorite cold coffee drink takes form in the Minted Cold Brew. The smooth coffee is shaken with mint syrup and garnished with fresh mint to leave you feeling hydrated and refreshed.

Freshly pulled espresso is artfully layered with sumptuous, thick-drinking chocolate and vanilla-bean crema, for a lush, dreamy beverage so decadent, you must use a spoon to revel in every rich drop.

The most Instagrammable beverages at the Chicago Roastery - Starbucks Stories

The most Instagrammable beverages at the Chicago Roastery

These spectacular drinks are sure to excite your palate — and your news feed!

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Starbucks® Reserve Roastery Chicago is the company’s largest retail experience, featuring a unique menu of Starbucks Reserve specialty coffee, boutique Milanese Princi™ bakery, and Arriviamo™ Bar featuring coffee cocktails

Tributes to Chicago abound, including locally inspired craft cocktails, barrel aged coffee and collaborations with local artists, vendors

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago is the company’s sixth Reserve Roastery, joining locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo

Chicago – Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today unveiled Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago, which opens its doors to the public on Friday, November 15. Located on North Michigan Avenue and Erie Street on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the opening of Chicago Reserve Roastery marks Starbucks sixth global Roastery and third location in the U.S. Starbucks largest-ever immersive coffee experience – across five floors and 35,000 square feet of retail space – celebrates the company’s heritage and is a tribute to the roasting and the craft of coffee. Visitors will be able to see, hear and learn about coffee’s extraordinary journey through intentional and unparalleled design, while enjoying a menu featuring unique beverages exclusive to this location. The Chicago Roastery joins locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo.

“Over the past five years, we have created the ultimate immersive experience around all-things-coffee in spectacular Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in flagship cities around the world. This week we are delighted to open our doors on the sixth global Roastery in an iconic building located on Chicago’s renowned Magnificent Mile”, said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks ceo. “These Roasteries amplify the Starbucks brand, serve as innovation hubs, and create experiences for millions of customers around the world.” &nbsp;

Starbucks has a rich history with the Windy City, dating back to 1987 when the company opened its first store outside of the Pacific Northwest and had a total of 11 retail stores and served as the foundation for the company’s national growth strategy. Nearly 32 years later, there are 796 company-operated stores in the region where Starbucks employs more than 18,100 partners (employees). The Roastery employs nearly 200 people, including roasters, baristas, commessas, bakers, and mixologists.

“The design of the Chicago Roastery was inspired by the iconic Chicago landmark, and the city itself,” said Jill Enomoto, vice president of Roastery Design &amp; Concept for Starbucks. “We embraced the building’s natural light, married it with shades of classic Starbucks greens and intentionally wove in design features to encourage customer exploration and highlight the love and respect we have for coffee.”

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago is a working coffee roastery where Starbucks Roasters will be small-batch roasting Starbucks rarest single-origin coffees and blends called Starbucks Reserve. The coffee roasted in Chicago will be served exclusively to visitors of the location, available in handcrafted beverages as well as freshly scooped whole bean coffee. 

Unique Food and Beverage Experiences

There are three main coffee bars at the Roastery, which in total offer seven brewing methods, including espresso, pour over, coffee press, siphon, Chemex®, Clover® and cold brewing.

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The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago is the only Starbucks location in the U.S. to offer on-demand liquid nitrogen gelato. Designed to pair with Starbucks Reserve® coffee, nitrogen gelato is mixed by hand, with every scoop made right on the spot and offers another way for customers to enjoy specialty Starbucks Reserve coffees. Nitrogen gelato previously debuted at the Milan Roastery when it opened in September 2018.

Arriviamo™ Cocktail Bar

The Chicago Roastery will feature a dedicated Arriviamo™ Bar, like the Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations in New York and Milan. Inspired by the Italian tradition of aperitivo, the Arriviamo Bar will be a destination for customers looking for a carefully crafted cocktail. Located on the fourth floor, the Arriviamo™ bar features an assortment of traditional and unique cocktails, all concepted by local mixologists Julia Momose, Annie Beebe-Tron and Rachel Miller. In addition to a menu of classic cocktails and a selection of local Chicago beer and wine, exclusive specialty cocktails featuring Starbucks Reserve coffee and tea that nod to the culture and traditions of Chicago include:

In addition to coffee beverages, Roastery visitors can enjoy food at Princi™, the renowned artisanal boutique bakery and cafe founded by Italian baker Rocco Princi. As the exclusive food purveyor at Starbucks Reserve locations, Princi offers on-site baking of fresh breads, cornetti and focaccia, pizza and salads, plus cakes and tarts. A full menu of items will be available on the second floor Princi bakery, while select items will also be available throughout the Roastery for customers looking to pair their coffee with a savory or sweet bite. 

Exclusive to the Chicago Roastery will be a bakery conveyor that has been designed by Starbucks to transport fresh baked goods from the Princi bakery on the second floor, to the Starbucks Reserve Coffee Bar on the main level.

In a nod to the city’s vibrant history, artwork from local Chicago artists that tell stories and encourage customers to explore can be found throughout the building’s five floors. Customers can also purchase limited-edition merchandise from Chicago-based visual artist Mac Blackout to take home with them. 

Creating a Positive Impact

To further show support for the city of Chicago, Starbucks recently announced an investment of $10 million into four established Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) to drive economic opportunity in the city. The investment, dispersed among Accion Chicago, Chicago Community Loan Fund, Local Initiative Support Corporation and IFF, is expected to generate more than 500 loans toward supporting Chicago’s small businesses, community development projects, and the economic vitality of the city’s underserved neighborhoods.

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago opens on November 15 at 9 a.m. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us">www.StarbucksReserve.com </a>or follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/starbucksreserve/">https://www.instagram.com/starbucksreserve/</a>

Starbucks Unveils Epic 35,000-Square-Foot Reserve Roastery in Chicago - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks Unveils Epic 35,000-Square-Foot Reserve Roastery in Chicago

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago is the company’s sixth Reserve Roastery, joining locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo.

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See some of the highlights of the largest Starbucks yet, a five-story celebration of coffee, craft and Chicago.

Seattle. Shanghai. Milan. New York. Tokyo. And now, Chicago.

Each Starbucks Reserve™ Roastery celebrates coffee and craft, and offers an immersive experience inspired by some of the world’s most iconic cities. They are both a workshop and stage, a three-dimensional window into the journey of coffee. The Chicago Roastery is the company’s sixth roastery, and at 35,000 square feet, is its biggest showcase yet. It is a five-story tribute to the city’s art, architecture and culture – and the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-in-chicago-roastery-opening-brings-journey-full-circle/">indelible mark the city has made on Starbucks</a>.

1. Coffee roasted in Chicago, for Chicago

Step inside the front doors on Michigan Ave. and you’re immediately surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of coffee. Here, burlap bags of green (unroasted) Starbucks Reserve beans are roasted and then piped to coffee bars located on each level where they are crafted into beverages. The Chicago Roastery will roast small batch lots of Starbucks Reserve coffees from around the world. Unique to this Roastery, all coffee roasted in Chicago will only be served (and scooped) at this location. Customers can pick up a bag of hand-scooped Starbucks Reserve coffee at the Scooping Bar located on the first floor.

Standing as the centerpiece of the roastery is a 56-foot steel cask (the company’s tallest), a sculptural blend of form and function, where coffee beans go to rest and de-gas after being roasted. The bronze-colored cask has a perforated shell that reveals roasted beans moving through tubes in all directions, and then accumulating throughout the day like grains of sand in an hourglass.

3. A radiant view towards the sky

The light, the circulation, the artwork and the experience all draw the visitors’ eyes upwards. From the foot of the cask, look up to the domed ceiling high above as each ascending floor spirals and unfolds like a seashell. The design of the ceiling celebrates coffee as an agricultural product, inspired by misty green hills of coffee trees with rays of sun that radiate outward. 

4. Midwest’s first curved escalator

Encircling the cask is a curved escalator – the Midwest’s first – taking visitors from the first to the second floor and on a 360-degree tour of the roasting, brewing, and scooping below. Look out through the curved glass windows for a view of the Magnificent Mile beyond. &nbsp;

5. Italian bakery transported

Please don’t call it a dumbwaiter – this high-tech custom conveyer was specifically designed to transport freshly-baked focaccia, cornetti and breads in style from the second floor Princi bakery. 

Sweet cream transforms into silky-smooth gelato at the third floor Experiential Coffee Bar through an infusion of liquid nitrogen, generating clouds of puffy, white vapor with each hand-crafted batch. Created to pair perfectly with Starbucks Reserve coffees.

7. Merchandise made for Michigan Ave.

Commemorate your visit with exclusive Roastery-inspired gifts. Merchandise highlights include a Michigan Avenue collection of drinkware inspired by the city’s architecture, a Chicago Starbucks Reserve local collection that pays tribute to the namesake city, and a collection of items with vibrant graphics designed by Chicago-based visual artist <a href="http://www.macblackout.com/bio">Mac Blackout</a>.

The Roastery features dramatic murals from local artists, including a progressive piece by Chicago artist Eulojio Ortega that unfolds in a staircase spanning all five floors. His work offers a revealing glimpse into the world of coffee, paying tribute to the dedicated farmers and the coffee-growing regions that make it all possible.

9. Old-world craft of barrel-aging

It’s only fitting that the building that housed the flagship location of Crate &amp; Barrel for nearly two decades would have a space for actual barrels. The Roastery’s fourth floor features a coffee bar dedicated to the centuries-old craft of barrel-aging with a Starbucks menu of spirit-free coffee beverages like Whiskey Barrel Aged Cold Brew and Mulled Spiced Coffee. Sip a Smoked Cold-Fashioned – smoked to order with an aroma evoking the flavors infused into the coffee from the barrel. 

10. Cocktails designed by local mixologists

The Arriviamo™ Bar on the fourth floor (arriviamo means “we have arrived” in Italian) offers inspired (and photogenic) coffee and tea cocktail creations. Enjoy locally inspired cocktails like the Pour-Over Bijou and the Roastery Boilermaker from a menu designed in collaboration with Chicago-based mixologists Julia Momose, Annie Beebe-Tron and Rachel Miller.

Photos by Connor Surdi and Matt Glac

Top 10 things to know about Starbucks Chicago Roastery - Starbucks Stories

Top 10 things to know about Starbucks Chicago Roastery

See some of the highlights of the largest Starbucks yet, a five-story celebration of coffee, craft and Chicago.

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When the Starbucks Reserve® Roastery opens in Chicago next week, it will be a crowning moment for the company’s three decades in the city. But its success was anything but assured — it took a big gamble, a little convincing, and a few lucky breaks to make it in Chicago ... and the world.

Almost exactly 32 years ago, a tiny notice appeared in the Chicago Tribune’s weekly entertainment section. Past the review of a Def Leppard concert and the movie listings for “Fatal Attraction” and “The Princess Bride,” there’s a bullet under Restaurant Notes that reads, “Starbucks Coffee decided Chicago is the place to start a national expansion.” The announcement about the opening of Starbucks first store in the city was followed by a reminder to readers that the last Seattle business to try to break into the Chicago food and beverage market closed after just a few months.

With only 11 stores in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., Starbucks had bet its future on Chicago, eager to prove its allure could extend beyond the Pacific Northwest. Howard Schultz recalled in his book, “Pour Your Heart Into It,” that most business experts advised against expanding to Chicago before establishing a stronger regional base in the Northwest. “Chicagoans, I was told, would never drink dark-roasted coffee,” he wrote. “But … we jumped feet first into Chicago, so in love with our product that we couldn’t imagine that everybody else wouldn’t love it, too.”

It wasn’t exactly an auspicious start. The opening of its store at 219 W. Jackson, in the business district called the Loop, on October 19, 1987 just happened to be “Black Monday,” the day the stock market crashed. 

“But it was a disaster for other reasons,” Schultz wrote. “I didn’t realize that to be successful in Chicago’s Loop we needed to open into a lobby. Because the winters are so cold and windy, no one wants to walk outside to get a cup of coffee.” The location would close less than three years later. 

But the company would go on to open two new stores downtown in 1987, learning along the way. The next year, the Tribune would take notice of what it calls the “greening” of Chicago, with the appearance of the Starbucks logo popping up storefronts around town, including a spacious location downtown on Rush Street. America’s interest in specialty coffee is starting to “perk up,” it declared. 

Dai Ichikawa, a 30-year Starbucks partner who works in Store Development, started with the company as a barista in 1989 at the Lake Forest store on the North Shore, its fourth location in the Chicago area and first in the suburbs. Working weekends in college, he scooped fresh-roasted coffee shipped from Seattle into bags and made espresso beverages at the bar. “Your choices were latte, cappuccino, latte macchiato, americano, and the brewed coffee of the day,” he said. “There was no such thing as a Frappuccino. There were no ovens. Cookies were delivered from a local bakery and put into glass jars.”

His store didn’t have soft seating then, just had wooden stools and tall café tables — but it still felt like a community. “We were so small then, customers assumed we were a local company,” he said.

Cup by cup, customer by customer — word about Starbucks began to get around. Although the company struggled financially in the city in these early years, the business began to turn a corner in 1990 as the company found ways to improve the economics of each store, added kiosks in Dominick’s grocery stores and expanded its whole-bean coffee business to restaurants. Employees (who would soon be called partners) rallied around its new mission statement, “To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.”

Ichikawa worked as a manager trainee in one of these kiosks once he finished college, introducing thousands of new customers to Starbucks and convincing them to swap the cans of coffee in their grocery carts for a fresh-roasted bag from Starbucks. His father, who came from the restaurant business, had advised him against his new career path. “Trust me,” Ichikawa told his dad. “There’s something different about this company. It’s more than just a coffee shop.” 

By 1992, when the company was about to go public, it was safe to say Chicago had embraced Starbucks as its own. One article from the time noted how Chicagoans were now “clutching Starbucks to-go mugs, speaking to each other in Starbucks code: ‘Want to go for a grande skim dry decaf latte?’” 

Have coffee, will travel

Chicago helped the brand take flight in more ways than one. In 1993, the company opened its first store at Chicago’s O’Hare airport with a licensed location in Terminal 3, which quickly became one of the busiest locations in the company. Ten more O’Hare locations would open in the next five years, with hundreds of travelers trying Starbucks for the first time there each day, then picking up pounds of Starbucks® Gold Coast Blend coffee (created to honor Chicago) to bring to home to destinations around the world.

The city would also go on to become a proving ground for new customer experiences — large and small. In 1995, Chicago became home to the world’s largest Starbucks (for a time) when its Rush Street store moved into a 4,000+ square-foot space with comfy chairs and a fireplace. The store would move again in 2012 (this time across the street) to a two-story space to become the first store east of Seattle to adopt the company’s new, more environmentally conscious, store design approach. Store designer Jill Enomoto used the store as a showcase for this transformative store design strategy which improved the environmental performance of the store (which became officially <a href="https://www.usgbc.org/help/what-leed">LEED certified</a> 2016) and connected customers to the story of coffee and conversation. They reimagined the design of the coffee bar to include manual espresso machine and pour-over brewing along a long, low bar with stools that invited customers to stay and chat with baristas — elements that have been adopted into future Starbucks Reserve coffee bars and roastery locations.

“Oak &amp; Rush is a very special store for the company,” Enomoto said. “It gave a different coffee experience to the customer where they were encouraged to linger, get a second or third cup and then really kind of have a different coffee experience. It was this great opportunity to do a little bit of a shift.” ­

In 2016, Chicago also opened <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-chicago-store-experiences/">one of the company’s smallest</a> stand-alone locations, in Union Station. The compact 635-square-foot express concept store used a new high-tech ordering and service model to allow busy train passengers to grab their coffee and go at record speed. &nbsp;“We know customers in Chicago love the coffee experience, which makes this the perfect place for Starbucks to try new things,” said Chicago district manager Dan Dehmlow.

Later that year, Starbucks also opened a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-opens-in-englewood-chicago/">Community Store in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side</a> as part of its program to open stores in diverse urban communities across the United States. “Opening in Englewood is not just an opportunity to grow our business, but to be part of a local solution for social change,” said Rodney Hines, director for U.S. Social Impact.

Now in 2019, Starbucks is coming back to Chicago to open what will once again be the largest Starbucks in the world with the <a href="https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us/locations/reserve-bars">Starbucks Reserve™ Roastery.</a>&nbsp; The stunning five-story location on downtown’s Michigan Avenue will celebrate everything Chicago and Starbucks have built together over the last 30 years — the experience, the craft, and the coffee.

Enomoto, who is now a vice president leading the Chicago Roastery’s design, can’t wait to unveil the company’s newest coffee showcase on Nov. 15. “From design and construction to all the operational training, for us it’s extremely rewarding. We are excited about what we’re about to launch,” she said. 

Starbucks president and chief executive officer Kevin Johnson also gave a hint to what’s ahead on Starbucks earnings call last week when he called it “a beautifully designed, iconic” store. &nbsp;“I can’t wait to celebrate this opening with our partners and customers,” he said.

For Ichikawa, opening the Chicago Roastery represents a full-circle moment, almost exactly 30 years after he first started with the company. &nbsp;

“With Chicago, it’s just so appropriate to have a Roastery here,” he said. “I’m sure the partners are so excited to have this in their hometown. It’s a hometown for them as well.”

First Starbucks in Chicago opens at 219 W. Jackson in the Loop. 

The company introduces the bold Starbucks Gold Coast Blend®, named after the historic Gold Coast neighborhood along Lake Michigan’s shores. 

Buoyed by its success in Chicago, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-25th-anniversary-of-ipo/">Starbucks goes public</a> on June 26, 1992 at 27 cents per share, adjusted for six subsequent two-for-one stock splits.

Chicago becomes home to the world’s largest Starbucks to date when its Rush Street store relocates to a 4,000+ square-foot space.

The Rush Street store moves again to the corner of Oak &amp; Rush at 1003 N. Rush Street.

Chicago hosts the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative’s <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/chicago-opportunity-fair-and-forum/">first hiring fair</a>. The event draws more than 4,000 young people and marks the official launch of the coalition committed to engaging 100,000 young people in jobs, internships and apprenticeships.

Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-chicago-store-experiences/">express location opens in Union Station</a>.

Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-opens-in-englewood-chicago/">opens a store and training center in Chicago’s South Side</a> in Englewood on 63rd and Halsted. The store is part of Starbucks nationwide initiative to support local economic development in diverse, low-to-medium-income communities.

Starbucks Reserve Bar opens its doors in <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-reserve-bar-opens-in-chicago-wrigleyville/">Wrigleyville</a>, home of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. It is the third Starbucks Reserve coffee bar in the Chicago area after <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/store/1015888/western-deerpath-lake-forest-672-n-western-avenue-lake-forest-il-600451951-us">Lake Forest</a> and <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/store/12004/north-damen-1588-n-milwaukee-ave-chicago-il-606222008-us">Wicker Park</a>.

Chicago gets its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/chicago-gets-a-first-taste-of-princi/">first taste of Princi</a> with new West Loop Princi bakery.

Starbucks comes back to Chicago for <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/12000-starbucks-partners-gather-in-chicago-for-transformative-leadership-experience/">Leadership Experience 2019</a>, bringing together 12,000 store managers and field leaders for what Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson calls “a defining milestone in our journey.”

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/investing-in-chicago-how-10m-starbucks-loan-helps-underserved-areas/">Starbucks announces a $10 million investment </a>to help community development financial institutions (CDFIs) revitalize struggling neighborhoods on the city’s South and West Sides.

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2017/starbucks-roastery-coming-to-chicago-in-2019/">Chicago Roastery opens</a>, making it the largest Starbucks in the world.

Jennifer Warnick contributed to this report.

Starbucks in Chicago: Roastery opening brings journey full circle - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks in Chicago: Roastery opening brings journey full circle

When the Starbucks Reserve Roastery opens in Chicago next week, it will be a crowning moment for the company’s three decades in the Windy City.

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The investment in community lenders Accion Chicago, Chicago Community Loan Fund, IFF and Local Initiatives Support Corporation will finance more than 500 loans focused on supporting Chicagoland entrepreneurs in underserved communities

CHICAGO – Today, Starbucks Coffee Company announced its plans to invest $10 million in four community lenders to drive economic opportunity in Chicago. Starbucks investment is expected to help finance more than 500 loans to foster growth in small business, support community development projects and create more jobs in Chicago’s underserved communities.

“We believe the pursuit of profit is not in conflict with the pursuit of doing good,” said Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson. “We know that our business performs at its best when the communities we serve are thriving. This sustained investment will provide borrowers who often face barriers with access to capital and mentorship to grow their business and create more jobs in Chicago.”

“I applaud Starbucks for their commitment of corporate citizenship and efforts to strengthen the communities in which they serve,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “Chicago’s own relationship with Starbucks stretches over three decades, and we are incredibly excited to continue that partnership well into the future, through the 200 new jobs created in the beautiful new Reserve Roastery, as well as across our neighborhoods that aligns to our new INVEST South/West initiative, as we work together to drive investment and access to opportunity for every one of our city’s residents and families.”

Investing in Chicago: How $10M Starbucks loan helps underserved areas

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The $10 million investment from Starbucks is planned to be dispersed among Accion Chicago, Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and IFF — four established Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) that drive economic opportunity in the city’s neighborhoods, especially within those with little access to the flexible, affordable capital that entrepreneurs need. In addition to lending, the organizations will provide borrowers with mentoring and technical assistance to ensure the success of their projects. 

“Our communities are filled with talent and entrepreneurial spirit,” said Meghan Harte, executive director of LISC Chicago, which has invested more than $970M in grants, loans and equity throughout Chicago. “What they often lack is access to the right kind of capital so that entrepreneurs can launch, build and grow. With this investment, Starbucks is supporting a broadly shared prosperity that will deliver clear benefits to residents, while making our neighborhoods safer and stronger.”

With more than 150+ combined years of experience providing capital and financial guidance, these CDFIs have the financial expertise and local knowledge of Chicago to support meaningful, sustainable impact. Areas of focus for loan disbursement will include small businesses, nonprofit organizations and commercial real estate ventures.

“OFN commends Starbucks for this investment in small business and job creation for the Chicago communities that need it most,” said Amir Kirkwood, chief lending and investment officer for Opportunity Finance Network® (OFN). “This welcome investment will be managed by four CDFIs who are OFN members, all expert in providing much-needed fair and responsible lending to small businesses to create economic opportunity where it really counts.”

“The Chicago Community Loan Fund has been working strategically to create more commercial retail in low-income neighborhoods for a number of years,” stated Bob Tucker, Chief Operating Officer of CCLF. “With this influx of capital from Starbucks, CCLF will leverage additional funding to help address Chicago’s loss of population in these communities and create not only access to quality goods and services, but needed jobs for local residents.”

This investment follows Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2011/create-jobs-for-usa-program-launches-in-u-s-starbucks-stores-and-online/">Create Jobs for USA</a> initiative in partnership with the OFN in 2011. The program was dedicated to creating and sustaining jobs in underserved communities throughout the U.S. bolstered by a $5 million philanthropic contribution from the Starbucks Foundation. In three years, it raised more than $15 million in donations, which participating CDFIs turned into $105 million in financing for businesses to create or retain more than 5,000 jobs.

“Accion provides the capital, coaching and connections that neighborhood entrepreneurs need to create jobs and wealth in underserved communities. In Chicago, entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs need services that traditional financial institutions often can’t provide,” said Brad McConnell, CEO of Accion Chicago. “That’s what we do, and that’s why partnerships with thoughtful organizations like Starbucks are so crucial.”

“IFF is thrilled that a partner like Starbucks is seeing the communities of Chicago as wellsprings of opportunity,” said Matthew Roth, President Core Business Solutions at IFF. "By making an investment — one that expects to be repaid — Starbucks is betting that our communities can transform their dreams and aspirations into financial and social return.”

Bank of America will assist Starbucks in deploying the investment to each of the four lenders. The CDFIs are expected to start making loans to small business owners and community organizations by early next year, although borrowers can apply for a loan now. Chicagoland residents can learn more and apply for loans by visiting the respective CDFI websites. 

This news comes weeks ahead of the opening the Starbucks Reserve® Roastery on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica&nbsp;coffee. Today, with more than 30,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/">https://stories.starbucks.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.starbucks.com/">www.Starbucks.com</a>.&nbsp;

Accion helps neighborhood entrepreneurs grow by providing the capital, coaching, and connections small business owners need to create wealth and jobs throughout Illinois and Indiana. By partnering with entrepreneurs, Accion offers the most cost-effective way to invest in underserved communities. Accion offers small business loans between $500 and $100,000 to qualified borrowers and provides free coaching to any entrepreneur who wants to grow their business. Learn more at <a href="https://us.accion.org/region/illinois-northwest-indiana/">us.accion.org/chicago</a>.

Founded in 1991, Chicago Community Loan Fund is a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing flexible, affordable and responsible financing and technical assistance for community stabilization and development efforts and initiatives that benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, families and individuals throughout metropolitan Chicago. To-date, CCLF has closed 486 loans totaling over $210 million in financing that has leveraged an additional $1.4 billion in public and private sector capital for community projects. For more information, please visit <a href="http://cclfchicago.org/">cclfchicago.org</a>.

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America — great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $20 billion to build or rehab 400,500 affordable homes and apartments and develop 66.8 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more information, please visit <a href="https://www.lisc.org/chicago">lisc.org/chicago</a>.

<a href="https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fiff.org%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7Cmroth%40iff.org%7Cf95493c408bd4bd034dc08d7572c7ff8%7Ca456eb4bea7b49a186f2afab0067d887%7C0%7C0%7C637073720953164003&amp;sdata=ItBdtLycyrHg8G96JX81Ag44nQARFwIE4Ka3AW8GFpE%3D&amp;reserved=0">IFF</a> is a mission-driven lender, real estate consultant, and developer that helps communities thrive by creating opportunities for low-income populations and individuals with disabilities. Since 1988, IFF has provided $907 million in flexible, affordable financing to nonprofits serving a variety of sectors — affordable housing, health care, education, community development, and more. These investments have leveraged $2.9 billion and impacted communities by creating more than 6,700 child care slots, 50,000 charter school seats, 369,000 new patient visits, 10,000 units of affordable housing, 2,000 beds at supportive housing agencies, and 66,000 full- or part-time jobs. Learn more at <a href="https://iff.org/">iff.org</a>.

Starbucks invests $10 million in small business in Chicago - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks invests $10 million in small business in Chicago

Starbucks is providing small business and community development loans to bolster economic opportunity in Chicago.

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