Starbucks Reserve Roastery

Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Chicago) is a large-format Starbucks destination on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It opened on November 15, 2019, and is described as the largest Starbucks location in the world and the latest roastery in the Starbucks Reserve Roastery portfolio covered by the referenced material. Rather than functioning solely as a conventional café, the venue combines customer-facing coffee service with visible roasting, specialty-beverage preparation, food, merchandise, and architectural spectacle. The roastery occupies five floors and approximately 35,000 square feet at 646 North Michigan Avenue, on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The building had previously housed a flagship Crate & Barrel store. For the redevelopment, Starbucks involved Gordon Segal, the founder of Crate & Barrel, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the architecture firm associated with the building’s original 1990 design. This approach linked the venue’s conversion to the history of the site while adapting the interior for a highly experiential retail format. A central visual feature is a set of eight copper tubes, each approximately 56 feet tall, that move roasted coffee beans between floors. The equipment makes part of the production and distribution process visible to visitors, reinforcing Starbucks Reserve’s emphasis on rare coffees, craft, and discovery. The first floor serves as the primary customer entry and service level. It includes coffee service, treats intended for takeaway, roasting equipment, a coffee-bean scoop bar, souvenirs, and Starbucks merchandise. The second floor expands the food offer through a Princi location. Its menu includes Italian-style pastries and desserts such as croissants, cannoli, cheesecakes, and other sweet tarts, as well as savory items including pasta and pizza. The third floor contains barrels associated with Guatemalan cold brew and other rare coffees, adding another coffee-focused display and service area. On the fourth floor, a cocktail bar serves both classic and contemporary drinks, broadening the venue beyond coffee while maintaining the destination’s premium hospitality positioning. A public roof terrace occupies the fifth floor. The Chicago Roastery therefore operates as a flagship experience rather than simply a neighborhood Starbucks store. Its proposition rests on scale, architectural design, visible production, premium and limited coffee offerings, Italian-inspired food, cocktails, merchandise, and a multi-level visitor journey. The referenced material establishes the venue’s opening, location, size, layout, food and beverage components, and relationship with the former Crate & Barrel building, but does not provide reliable information about later management, financial performance, ownership changes, or a separate corporate headquarters.

The Chicago Starbucks Reserve Roastery developed from Starbucks’ broader Reserve strategy, which uses selected locations to present premium coffees and more elaborate hospitality than a standard Starbucks café. The specific venue opened on November 15, 2019, at 646 North Michigan Avenue on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Its site was formerly occupied by a flagship Crate & Barrel store, giving the project a prominent retail address and a large floor plate suitable for a multi-level destination. In preparing the building for its new use, Starbucks involved Gordon Segal, the founder of Crate & Barrel, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the architectural firm connected with the original 1990 design. The redevelopment retained the importance of the building as a retail landmark while transforming its interior into a coffee-centered visitor environment. The completed Roastery covers five stories and about 35,000 square feet. The venue’s design makes coffee movement and preparation part of the customer experience. Eight copper tubes, each approximately 56 feet tall, transport roasted beans between floors. This equipment provides a prominent visual link between roasting and retail service, helping distinguish the Roastery from a conventional café where production is generally less visible. The first floor functions as the main public service and retail area. Visitors can obtain coffee and treats, observe roasting equipment, use a coffee-bean scoop bar, and purchase souvenirs or merchandise. The second floor houses Princi, the Italian food concept associated with the venue, with pastries and desserts including fresh croissants, cannoli, cheesecakes, and other tarts. Savory Italian food such as pasta and pizza is also available. The third floor is devoted to additional coffee-focused experiences, including barrels containing Guatemalan cold brew and other rare coffees. The fourth floor contains a cocktail bar offering classic and modern drinks, extending the concept into premium evening hospitality. A public roof terrace occupies the fifth floor and adds an outdoor component to the multi-level destination. The resulting business format combines specialty coffee retail, food service, cocktails, merchandise, visible production, and architectural tourism. The available reference material does not establish a separate legal entity, independent ownership, financial results, executive roster, or later corporate milestones for the Chicago location. It identifies the venue as a Starbucks operation and places it within the Starbucks Reserve concept.

• 2019

  Chicago Reserve Roastery opens

  [1]Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Chicago)en.wikipedia.org

  The five-story Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened on November 15, 2019, at 646 North Michigan Avenue on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

• 1990

  Original building design associated with Solomon Cordwell Buenz

  [1]Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Chicago)en.wikipedia.org

  The building later converted into the Chicago Roastery was originally designed in 1990 by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, which was later involved in the redevelopment.

An immersive, premium Starbucks Reserve destination centered on specialty coffee, visible roasting, Italian-inspired food, cocktails, architecture, and experiential retail.

• Specialty coffee · 2019

  Starbucks Reserve coffee

  The Roastery serves Starbucks Reserve coffees and presents rare or specialty beans as a central part of the visitor experience. Coffee is offered through the main coffee bar and supported by visible roasting equipment, bean handling, and a scoop bar. The venue’s design emphasizes the movement of beans through the building, making specialty-coffee production part of the retail proposition.

• Cold coffee beverage · 2019

  Guatemalan cold brew

  Guatemalan cold brew is associated with the third-floor coffee experience, where barrels containing the beverage and other rare coffees form part of the Roastery’s presentation. It represents the venue’s focus on origin-specific coffee and on serving products in a setting that highlights storage, preparation, and provenance.

• Bakery and Italian food · 2019

  Princi food offering

  The second floor includes a Princi location offering Italian-style pastries and desserts such as fresh croissants, cannoli, cheesecakes, and other sweet tarts. The menu also includes savory dishes such as pasta and pizza, giving the Roastery a food program broader than the baked goods typically associated with a standard coffee shop.

• Cocktails and alcoholic beverages · 2019

  Roastery cocktail bar

  The fourth-floor cocktail bar serves classic and contemporary drinks. Its inclusion broadens the Roastery’s operating model from daytime coffee service into a more complete hospitality destination, while complementing the specialty-coffee, food, and architectural experience.

• Retail merchandise · 2019

  Starbucks Reserve merchandise

  The first floor includes souvenirs and merchandise connected with Starbucks and the Reserve Roastery experience. These retail items extend the venue’s role beyond food and beverage consumption and give visitors products associated with the Chicago destination.

• 2019

  Launch of the Chicago Reserve RoasteryProduct launch

  Background

  Starbucks converted a prominent former Crate & Barrel flagship site on North Michigan Avenue into a large-format Reserve destination.

  Action taken

  The company opened a five-story, approximately 35,000-square-foot venue with coffee roasting, specialty beverages, Princi food, cocktails, merchandise, and a public roof terrace.

  Aftermath

  The Chicago venue became the largest Starbucks location described in the reference material and the latest roastery to be built at the time of its opening.

  Source

1. 1Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Chicago)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Starbucks Reserve Roastery websiteroastery.starbucks.it