Why Starbucks chose Chicago for its largest Roastery in the world

The sixth Roastery is larger than locations in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Tokyo. Why go big in Chicago? The brand’s expansion story began with a big bet in Chicago 32 years ago, when the 11-unit chain opened its first café here Oct. 19, 1987 – which would later be known as “Black Monday” after the stock market crashed. That location, which was ill-suited for Chicago’s severely cold winters, eventually closed. But Starbucks didn’t give up on the city, eventually opening two other locations in 1987.

The brand struggled at first, but the so-called “greening” of Chicago occurred over time. The Windy City has now become a proving ground for many brand experiments, the company said.

“It is an honor to call Chicago our second home,” CEO Kevin Johnson said in a tweet.

The Roastery “will celebrate everything Chicago and Starbucks have built together over the last 30 years — the experience, the craft, and the coffee,” Starbucks said.

The Roastery is a five-story building that will roast small batches of Starbucks Reserve coffee beans from around the world. All coffee roasted in Chicago will only be served at this location. It is located along Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” in the former iconic Crate & Barrel building. Gordon Segal, the furnishing retailer’s founder, said Starbucks is “one of the more exciting things we could do with the building.”

Unique design features include a curved escalator – a first for the Midwest, Starbucks said. Visitors traveling from the first to the second floor will get a 360-degree view of the roasting and brewing occurring below on the first floor.

Baked goods from the second floor Princi bakery will be transporated to other floors via this high-tech conveyer belt. It was specifically designed to transport focaccia, cornetti and breads. “Please don’t call it a dumbwaiter,” Starbucks says.

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.

The Roastery’s fourth floor is home to The Arriviamo Bar, which offers “inspired and photogenic” coffee and tea cocktail creations, Starbucks said. The menu was designed in collaboration with Chicago-based mixologists Julia Momose, Annie Beebe-Tron and Rachel Miller. Barrels on the fourth floor allow for spirit-free, but barrel aged coffee beverages like Whiskey Barrel Aged Cold Brew and Mulled Spiced Coffee.