Customers visiting the Starbucks Reserve® Roasteries in Chicago, Seattle and New York can explore the craft, theater, and innovation of Starbucks Reserve®&nbsp;coffee with three new, Starbucks Reserve® Signature Experiences: “Art of the Espresso Martini,” “Oleato™ Tasting Experience” and “Coffee Lab: A Journey of the Senses.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

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During the 30-60 minute small-group classes, Starbucks baristas and mixologists will guide participants through the latest innovations in coffee brewing as well as mixology skills and tastings. Whether a frequent Starbucks Reserve® Roastery visitor or someone looking for one-of-a-kind experience during summer travel, customers can purchase a ticket for a Signature Experience at <a href="https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us/coffee" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">starbucksreserve.com/en-us/coffee</a>. &nbsp;

The new Starbucks Reserve® Signature Experiences include:

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A master class in coffee’s most iconic cocktail&nbsp; &nbsp;

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Participants will learn to craft the signature Starbucks Reserve® Espresso Martini alongside Starbucks expert mixologists and enjoy their own globally-inspired espresso martini flight, paired with Princi® bites. Limited tickets are available daily at select times for this 60-minute experience. Cost: $95/person. Limited to customers 21 and above.

Immerse in the alchemy of Starbucks Reserve® coffee infused with Partanna® extra virgin olive oil&nbsp;&nbsp;

This class is led by a Starbucks barista who guides participants through a multi-sensory experience that showcases the alchemy of aroma, flavor, and texture unique to Oleato™ beverages. Participants will complete a muti-step tasting experience, featuring: &nbsp;Oleato™ Deconstructed, Oleato™ Iced Cortado, Oleato Golden Foam™ Cold Brew OR Oleato Golden Foam™ Espresso Martini. &nbsp;

Limited tickets are available daily at select times for this 45-minute experience. Cost: $50/person.

Coffee Lab: A Journey of the Senses&nbsp;&nbsp;

Discover a multi-step sensory journey and learn how to taste coffee like a pro

Starbucks baristas will teach participants how to taste and identify the layered flavors and aromas of two single-origin Starbucks Reserve® coffees in a side-by-side tasting using the iconic Chemex®&nbsp;brewer, followed by an interactive multisensory activity where they will build an “aroma lab” of edible ingredients. Limited tickets are available daily at select times for this 30-minute experience. Cost: $45/person.&nbsp;

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Customers visiting the Starbucks Reserve® Empire State Building® location in New York City can also reserve coffee experiences, visit <a href="https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us/locations/esb/bookexperiencetickets">here</a> for more info. &nbsp;

For more details about Starbucks Reserve locations and menus, visit <a href="http://starbucksreserve.com">StarbucksReserve.com</a>.&nbsp;

Smiling barista in Starbucks Reserve apron presenting Chemex brewing method

Starbucks baristas and mixologists will guide participants through the latest innovations in coffee brewing as well as mixology skills and tastings.

New Immersive Coffee Experiences Launch at U.S. Starbucks Reserve Roasteries

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Starbucks Stories

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New Immersive Coffee Experiences Launch at U.S. Starbucks Reserve Roasteries  

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The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago opened its doors to the public Friday, and quickly reached capacity as visitors moved up and down its five floors of coffee wonderland. At 35,000 square feet, the Roastery is now the largest Starbucks in the world.

CHICAGO – At the corner of Michigan and Erie on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, a crowd stretched down the block before sunrise Friday morning. They braved freezing temperatures, bundled up in hats, coats and mittens, to be among the first to experience the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago.

Andy Shelton of Chicago was the first person through the door when it opened at 9 a.m.

“When I got the invitation, I immediately took the day off,” said Shelton, a Starbucks Rewards members who, once inside, made a beeline to order a coffee and avocado toast with salmon.&nbsp; “I love the space. It’s very unique, and everyone is friendly, and this location – it is in the heart of where everyone wants to be.”

At five floors and 35,000 square feet, the Chicago Roastery is now the largest Starbucks in the world. But even with a capacity crowd of nearly 1,000 Friday morning, three customers quickly became the most recognizable in the building. Friends Alane Odom of Glen Carbon, Ill., Kristin Ward of Chicago and Rhonda Mitchell of St. Louis wore matching, two-foot-tall elf hats. This was Mitchell’s doing; she found them at Savers Thursday and thought they’d be festive to wear to the opening.

Mitchell and Odom have been friends for 20 years. The three of them have been friends for 10 years, ever since Odom reconnected with Ward, a grade school friend she’d lost track of. They found each other again through Facebook and within a month of reuniting had planned a trip to China together. They’ve been “inseparable” ever since. 

“China is where we bought our first Starbucks mug. We just thought it would be fun to have something that said Beijing,” Ward said.

“It just, like, snowballed from there, and now, between us, we probably have at least a thousand [Starbucks] mugs,” Odom said. “We’ve been known to take trips just to get mugs.”

Their motto: “Every Starbucks mug has a story.” 

Ward said their friendship is built around seeing the world, laughing and sharing memories over coffee – and collecting mugs.

“Some people think it’s silly, and that’s OK,” Ward said. “It brings us joy, and that’s what life is all about.”

Added Odem: “In the day-to-day chaos and ups and downs of life, Starbucks is our happy place.”

Here are some scenes from opening morning of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago opened its doors to the public Friday. Located at the corner or North Michigan Avenue and Erie Street on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the Roastery is five floors and 35,000 square feet, making it the largest Starbucks in the world. 

Shauna McKenzie-Lee, managing director of the Chicago Roastery, opens the doors to customers for the first time Friday morning.

Customers ride the curved escalator to the second floor of the Chicago Roastery. Encircling the 56-foot cask, where coffee beans go to rest and de-gas after the roasting process, the escalator is the first of its kind in the Midwest.

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Customers, bundled up to fight the freezing temperatures, began lining up predawn to visit the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago. By opening time, the line stretched down the block and around the corner. The Chicago Roastery joins locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo.

Friends Alane Odom of Glen Carbon, Ill., Kristin Ward of Chicago and Rhonda Mitchell of St. Louis were some of the first customers into the Roastery. Odom and Ward, who collect Starbucks mugs, were walking around with large shopping bags full of Roastery merchandise. What did they buy? “What didn’t we buy!” Odom said, laughing.

Starbucks partners pose at the Chicago Roastery scoop bar in the relative calm shortly before doors open Friday. Coffee beans are roasted fresh and travel by pipe to locations around the Roastery where they are crafted into beverage or hand-scooped for customers who want to take home a bag.

Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of Starbucks, crafted the first coffee beverage of the day for a customer after high fiving the cheering people streaming into the Chicago Roastery and visiting with the crowd waiting in line outside.

The Reserve coffee bar on the main level of the Roastery bustles with cappuccinos, lattes, cortados and a capacity crowd after doors opened Friday morning. Outside, a crowd of visitors from Chicago and out of town alike wait for a chance to explore the world’s largest Starbucks. 

Chicago Roastery partner Ethan uses a siphon to brew coffee. The theatrical technique takes about 10 minutes from start to finish and uses vacuum filtration to push extremely hot water through a bed of freshly ground coffee. 

Roz Brewer, chief operating officer and group president of Starbucks, greets customers in line waiting for the doors of the Chicago Roastery to open Friday morning. 

Starbucks partners empty freshly roasted beans into a cart for transport at the Chicago Roastery. Small-batch lots of Starbucks Reserve coffees from around the world are roasted daily in the Probat L-25 roaster, which the roasting team has affectionately nicknamed “Charlotte.”

Eryn Sable, assistant general manager of the Seattle Roastery, passes out coffee to visitors waiting in line to get into the Chicago Roastery Friday morning.

Starbucks Chicago Roastery opens to capacity crowds - Starbucks Stories

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Starbucks Chicago Roastery opens to capacity crowds

At the corner of Michigan and Erie on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, a crowd stretched down the block before sunrise Friday morning.

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<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.

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.

Starbucks Reserve Roasteries around the world - 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.

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

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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.

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

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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

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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

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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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New mixology offering elevates nighttime experience at China’s coffee wonderland by blending specialty coffee craftsmanship with cocktail artistry

Shanghai, CHINA — Starbucks today announced the new addition of Bar Mixato to the Starbucks Reserve™ Roastery in Shanghai, further elevating the multi-sensory experience of China’s coffee wonderland. Starbucks unique interpretation of the modern café and bar experience, Bar Mixato brings together the craftsmanship of specialty coffee and the artistry of cocktail concoctions to offer a novel nighttime third-place experience that will enthrall coffee lovers and bar-goers alike. It features a full bar menu, which includes the global debut of 11 innovative coffee- and tea-based cocktails specially created and available only at the Shanghai Roastery.

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“The Roastery has been at the forefront of innovation since its opening two years ago, epitomizing Starbucks relentless efforts to create imaginative new experiences that exceed customers’ expectations,” said Belinda Wong, chairman and chief executive officer, Starbucks China. “The launch of Bar Mixato elevates the nighttime third-place experience with the exquisite fusion of coffee and cocktail art, to delight customers with unique Starbucks Experiences throughout the day. As Starbucks Innovation Lab in China, we will continue to leverage the Starbucks Reserve Roastery to pilot and gradually scale new products and offerings that our Chinese customers love.”

Bar Mixato extends Starbucks passion for coffee to the theater of cocktail mixology, conjuring new creative expressions of coffee, while adding a novel dimension to cocktails to meet the discerning tastes and growing thirst for unique experiences among consumers in China. Customers at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery may now enjoy Starbucks Reserve™ Coffee expertly handcrafted by Starbucks Coffee Masters by day, and connect over coffee- and tea-inspired cocktails mixed with precision by Starbucks Mixologists by night. Altogether, Starbucks has launched seven Bar Mixatos at Starbucks Reserve stores across Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Shenzhen since the concept was first introduced in China in May.

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Located on the second floor of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the bar was personally designed by Starbucks global design officer, Liz Muller. It is helmed by Timothee Becqueriaux, winner of the globally prestigious 2019 Chivas Bartender Competition (China region), and his team of more than 20 talented Mixologists, who are not only experts in cocktail mixing, but also coffee and tea aficionados. From the use of ingredients to mixing techniques, they have reinterpreted traditional cocktails to create drinks with unique taste and aesthetic profiles, providing an unprecedented sensory experience for customers. 

Headlining the comprehensive bar menu are 11 unique coffee- and tea-based cocktails specially created by Starbucks China in collaboration with leading bartenders in the industry. Classic cocktails, Italian aperitivo, wine, draft beer and mocktails are also available, as is a thoughtfully curated selection of complementary food choices that customers can pair with their favorite cocktails. The menu will be refreshed quarterly based on the flavors of new Starbucks Reserve coffees. 

Since opening in December 2017, the Roastery has played a leading role in Starbucks retail innovation, incubating new offerings such as Modern Mixology, a new beverage category boasting natural fruit ingredients. With the addition of Bar Mixato, the Roastery will expand to serve as the hub for Starbucks cocktail innovation, before launching to other Bar Mixato locations nationwide. 

Featured beverages: Matcha Drama (left), Nitro Coffee Martini (right)

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Starbucks Launches Bar Mixato in Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai - Starbucks Stories

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