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Rediff.com  » News » SNEAK PEAK: Inside Starbucks' largest coffee shop

SNEAK PEAK: Inside Starbucks' largest coffee shop

November 14, 2019 08:20 IST
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The world’s largest coffee chain is opening the largest Starbucks in the world in the Windy City of Chicago on November 15.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago, the company's sixth and final Reserve Roastery, housed inside Crate & Barrel’s former flagship location on Michigan Avenue is 35,000 square feet large and five floors high.

And we have got to say that it’s a paradise for coffee lovers!

Somewhere between a shrine to beans and a Willy Wonka's of coffee, the Roastery features three coffee bars, a cocktail bar and a selection of food from Italian bakery Princi – each with a distinctive Chicago flare. Photograph: Starbucks
 

Starbucks spent two years converting the former Crate & Barrel store into the Roastery. "This roastery is a representation of the relationship that Starbucks has had with the city of Chicago," CEO Kevin Johnson was quoted as saying at a press preview. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

On the first floor, coffee is roasted fresh all day, every day, and distributed to various spots in the store after resting in a 56-ft steel cask. Photograph: Starbucks

In addition to being it’s largest-ever cafe, the Chicago Roastery will also host its tallest cask. Freshly roasted coffee beans will rest in the 56-foot-tall bronze container before being used in drinks. It is a sculptural work of art that acts like a multisensory hourglass with the roasted beans as the grains of sand. Photograph: Starbucks

Unlike other Starbucks locations, which serve coffee blends, the Roastery serves only rare coffees, roasted on-site in small batches. The new location is expected to roast 200,000 pounds per year, in 25-pound batches. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Coffee enthusiasts can grab a seat at the third-floor experiential coffee bar and watch their custom creations come to life. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The first floor also houses a Scooping Bar which allows you to buy fresh-roasted beans. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The coffee shop also houses food items on every floor. However, the largest selection is available on the second floor -- the Princi Bakery & Cafe. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Acclaimed Italian baker and frequent Starbucks collaborator Rocco Princi is the man behind the food served at the coffee shop. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

An open kitchen and its ovens are on display, plenty of seating is available at both the counter and tables, and a conveyor transports food to the other floors. The rarest food item in the roastery is gelato made with liquid nitrogen -- this location is the only Starbucks in the country to offer it. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The fourth floor hosts a bar dedicated to barrel-aged beverages. Cocktails crafted by local mixologists will also be available on the fourth floor at the roastery’s Arriviamo Bar. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

A large horseshoe-shaped bar sits at the center of the room underneath skylights. Tables provide more seating and more retail is available for purchase on this level. The space seats around 175 people, making this floor alone one of the larger cocktail bars in Chicago. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

IThe first floor features a mural made of coffee info cards, which also showcase the store’s unique coffee blend offerings. "Chicago, you inspire us. Your people, your city, your architecture, your music, your art. Your neighbourhoods and communities," the wall art reads. "Thank you." Photograph: Starbucks

Artwork from local artists decorates the interior of the store. Artist Eulojio Ortega painted a mural that spans the roastery’s staircase across all five floors that pays tribute to coffee farmers and the regions where the beans are grown and harvested. Photograph: Starbucks
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