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[feline groovy]

Wow!  Great aesthetics.

Wind powered in the Windy City! The world's largest Starbucks prepares to open in Chicago on The Magnificent Mile that will boast four floors, a cocktail bar and will be their greenest coffee house ever

• The 'largest Starbucks in the world' is set to open in Friday, November 15 in Chicago, Illinois
• The location, which was built from a Crate & Barrel building, is 35,000-square-feet and has four floors
• The Chicago Reserve Roastery has incredible perks like three coffee bars, a cocktail bar with specially made drinks and sells liquid nitrogen gelato
• The building is one of 340 Illinois Starbucks that are built to be environmentally sustainable and are powered by the city's wind
• This location is Starbucks sixth and last Reserve Roastery being built, joining other locations like New York, Tokyo and Shanghai 
• The Reserve Roastery will be the first Starbucks Roastery location to be wind powered 
•  Almost 200 employees will be staffed at the new location, with many of them coming from other stores around the country

MailOnlineUK  PUBLISHED: 12:52 EST, 13 November 2019 | UPDATED: 12:59 EST, 13 November 2019

The 'largest Starbucks in the world' is officially scheduled to open Friday in Chicago, Illinois. 

The one-of-a-kind roastery will pull back the curtain on November 15 in the Magnificent Mile, the Windy City's premiere commercial district known for its vibrant and upscale shopping outlets. 

It will become Starbucks sixth and final Reserve Roastery, a 'theatrical' step up from the company's standard shop that celebrates the intimacy of brewing coffee from around the globe.

Other Reserve Roastery locations include, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Milan and Seattle.  

The Reserve Roastery is extravagant, including three coffee bars, a cocktail bar and a selection of food choices from an exclusive Italian bakery from Princi found inside the Starbucks.

CEO Kevin Johnson said in a press interview on Thursday: 'This roastery is a representation of the relationship that Starbucks has had with the city of Chicago. Chicago has been a market where we innovate and try new things.'

The Chicago roastery, which has nearly 200 employees recruited from around the country, it built inside a 35,000-square-foot- Crate & Barrel building on the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Erie Street.

Johnson said: 'For us, this is really a dream. The building history here is very unique.' 

Jill Enomoto, vice president of Roastery Design & Concept, told USA Today revealed that designers played off the expansive building's natural light and eye-catching structure.

In a Willy-Wonka like fantasy, the Reserve Roastery contains a 56-foot steel cask that holds and transfers beans as they run straight up to the building's glass atrium. 

Using long, narrow and winding rods, the beans are transported to each of the three coffee bars where guests can order new and old favorites.

A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: 'As soon as you walk in the door, you experience roasting happening right in front of your face and see the beans shoot from floor to floor. So you are in fact drinking the freshest coffee possible.'

Crate & Barrel founder Gordon Segal worked the former Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz to bring their vision of the shop to life. 

Segal said: 'All your senses – your sights, your smells, your sound – is wonderful in a building like this.'

For customers who decide to make the Chicago Reserve Roastery their destination, they will be delighted to encounter wall art and other nods to the Windy City throughout the building. 

A 'love letter' can be found inside dedicated to Chicago from the Roastery. 

It reads: 'Chicago, you inspire us. Your people, your city, your architecture, your music, your art. Your neighborhoods and communities. Thank you.'

What's more impressive than the bounding structure and intricate designs that line the walls are the dining selections available for sale. 

While other Starbucks locations serve coffee blends, the Roastery only deals in rare coffees that are roasted on-site in small batches.

At this time, the Chicago location is expected to roast 200,000 pounds per year in 25-pound batches.  

On the ground floor, curious visitors can sample classic espresso drinks from the Reserve Coffee Bar and watch the coffee-roasting process in real time. 

An antique clack board is viewable as well, allowing customers to see wbere the several locations their beans originated form.  

Up on the third-floor, an array of flasks, tubes and cylinders surround the Experiential Coffee bar where trained baristas will brew delectable mixtures.

The fourth-floor is home to Barrel-Aged Coffee, a type of beverage that blends non-alcoholic coffee beans aged in Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels.

To give the Barrel-Aged coffee even more distinction, the Roastery brands its ice with 'R' for cold brews to order. 

For customers looking for a stronger taste, the Arriviamo Cocktail Bar -which is also found in New York and Milan- is placed on the same floor. 

Three local mixologists spearheaded the project to create a variety of beverages, including the 'Union Stock,' Lake Shore,' Pour Over Bijou,' and 'Roastery Boilermaker.'

The 'Roastery Boilermaker'is blended with a shot of the bitter liqour Marlot that is known as a staple in Chicago. 

Teams working ob the Chicago Roastery Reserve say they wanted to be sure the location correctly 'represented Chicago.'  

This Chicago Starbucks Reserve Roastery ascends above other businesses because of the company's commitment to sustainable practices. 

The building is LEED-certified, meaning it meets the construction standards of the Leadership in Environmental & Energy Design. 

Starbucks said in a statement: 'This builds on our ongoing efforts to address our environmental impact and ensure that we offer our customers coffee in the most sustainable way.' 

The company announced that more than 340 Illinois Starbucks stores are currently powered by 100 percent renewable energy from wind power generated from the city.

The Reserve Roastery will be the first Starbucks Roastery location to be wind powered. 

This is one of several instance of Starbucks push for environmental consciousness, like their $10 million investment in four community leaders to create economic opportunity in Chicago. 

In 2019, Chicago was named the 'greenest place to work' in the United States. 

The 48-year-old company opened its doors in Seattle, Washington, in 1971, and has dug its roots into Chicago over the years to create a foothold in the city. 

In 1987, Starbucks opened their first franchise store in Chicago in 1987 and opened a location inside the O'Hare International Airport in 1993. 

Two years later, Starbucks unveiled a 4,000-square-foot store on Rush Street and that was considered the largest company store at the time. 

After the grand opening, location hours will be 7am to 11pm Monday through Friday, 7am to midnight on Friday, 8am to midnight on Saturday and 8am to 10pm on Sunday.  

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[itsmagic]

I usually make a trip to Chicago via train every spring. It will be fun to check it out. 

[Xivambala]

This will definitely be a winner. Too bad I moved from the Chicago area to Florida a year ago. I was just there too over this past weekend, but am now back home. Boo!

[Xivambala]

This will definitely be a winner. Too bad I moved from the Chicago area to Florida a year ago. I was just there too over this past weekend, but am now back home.

[kaydee50]

Not a Starbucks fan but I live a few blocks from this and am looking forward to a visit.  The Crate & Barrel store was unique and this sounds even more so.

[Diva on The Q]

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@itsmagic wrote:

I usually make a trip to Chicago via train every spring. It will be fun to check it out. 

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@itsmagic:  Chicago by train is the only way to go! Plan to visit the new Starbuck's on my next trip. 

[tockerman]

that will not be there very long. pricy rent and there is a starbucks on every other street in that area. 

[willdob3]

Ooh! I have relatives in Chicago! Family reunion time! lol

[GCR18]

I heard about Starbucks doing this a while ago.  Glad to see it's actually happening.  I live about three hours away.  If I'm in the general area I'd go.

[magicmoodz]

As much as I like a modern, industrial feel, this is so NOT my idea of a coffee shop. I don't mind a coffee roasting machine on the floor, but I like big overstuffed sofas and chairs strategically placed to create a homey feel, lots of local artwork and a small stage if live music (and drinks) are offered.