Chicago Tribune– The highly anticipated Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago is scheduled to open Nov. 15 on the Magnificent Mile, marking the last and largest of the chain’s grand coffee palaces.
The Chicago roastery will open at 10 a.m. that day in a glassy 43,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Crate & Barrel, at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Erie Street.
The four-story emporium will employ 200 people and include on-site roasting of its rare Reserve beans, interactive tours, exclusive drinks “inspired by the culture and traditions of Chicago” and a full kitchen for making desserts, breads, pizzas and salads from Italian bakery Princi, Chief Operating Officer Roz Brewer said.
Okay, in theory this looks pretty cool. A four-story starbucks with an in-house roastery and (probably) a cafe or restaurant of some sort looks like something I would for SURE check out. It's like a brewery tour but for coffee. A lot of different flavors and roasts you probably can't find at your corner shop. Coffee flights maybe? Who knows. It sounds like it has potential.
Yes. I'm a Starbucks guy. I know that probably goes against the country brand for the most part, but growing up I found on multiple occasions hair in my COFFEE from another distributor once I discovered coffee and that sh*t changes you. Don't blame me, blame the staff at the undisclosed coffee place down the street from my house (rhymes with Funkin' Gonuts) for not wearing hair nets. Scarred me for life. Plus, I like my coffee not full of milk and sugar so maybe that's it too.
Getting off topic.
Would I like to check this place out? Absolutely. Will I? Ehhh, probably not. Just walked down Michigan Ave yesterday for a lovely evening of looking at things I can't afford and finding a food spot for the football game and let me tell you, at peak hours, Mag Mile is the LAST place you ever want to be. Incredibly crowded, no one knows how to walk, it's awful. Now you're telling me we're going to put the largest Starbucks in the world right smack dab in the middle of it? Starbucks, a place where rich Naperville teens choose to hangout and order their frappuccinos and connect to the wifi for hours on end? Count me out, Chief. I want no part of it unless you go at like 1pm AFTER everyone has already had their morning cup of coffee and right before everyone takes a long lunch break to refuel with a second cup. Even then you'll have all the tourists with no schedule at all crowding the place. Sure it's four stories or whatever but I see this being a big stop for everyone, especially during the holidays when Chicago is literally lit up like a Christmas tree.
My thoughts and prayers are with all the baristas on opening weekend. They don't know what they're in for. Godspeed, Starbucks employees. I hardly knew thee. - @Traceahamilton