This is what it looks like when a coffee giant thinks big.
Starbucks announced this week that it will build another of its high-end Reserve Roastery locations on one of the world’s premiere retail strips. A 43,000-square-foot “fully sensorial coffee environment” is coming to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in 2019, the company said.
The location, at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Erie Street, will be the third Roastery in the U.S. The first opened in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood in 2014 and another is on track to open in New York City in 2018. International locations are coming to Shanghai (later this year), Milan and Tokyo (2018).
“Having opened our first Starbucks store in Chicago nearly 30 years ago, our first outside of Seattle, this is a very special city for me. At the time, it was a true test for Starbucks because the Chicago customer is so savvy and discerning about their coffee,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks executive chairman, said in a news release. “Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, so we took our time to find an incredible space to match the unprecedented coffee experience our premium Roastery will offer. To be located on one of the best-known retail streets in the world is a proud moment for all of us and we can’t wait to bring Chicago and the world a coffee experience worthy of their most premier real estate.”
The four-level space, in what is currently the Crate & Barrel building, will eclipse the 30,000-square-foot location previously billed as the biggest, in Shanghai, according to the Chicago Tribune.
