Explore the world’s largest Starbucks, a coffee lover’s wonderland
Step inside the Chicago Roastery, a 35,000-square-foot cathedral of coffee that offers an immersive coffee experience.
The moment you step through the doors, it’s clear: this is no ordinary Starbucks.
All 35,000 square feet of the Chicago Roastery, the largest Starbucks in the world, were designed to be a coffee lover’s dream.
The Roastery, which opened in 2019, covers multiple theater‑like floors, each one alive with the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of coffee craft in motion.
The roar of the coffee roaster at work fills the space like a heartbeat and on the ceilings overhead, pneumatic tubes zip freshly roasted coffee beans around the space and directly to baristas, who use them to craft beverages with quiet beauty and precision.
Let’s explore each floor and the details that make this unlike any Starbucks on earth.
Floor One: A coffee lover’s dream
The roaster: At the heart of the first floor is a working custom roaster where experts roast Starbucks Reserve coffee beans in real time. Visitors can watch the entire process unfold while asking questions, feeling the warmth of beans roasting, hearing the rhythm of the roaster in motion and sipping a cup of coffee prepared from the last batch.
The Chicago wall: This striking installation spells out the city’s name using Starbucks Reserve cards from each Starbucks Reserve coffee served since the Roastery opened in 2019 as well as the signatures of the partners who helped open it. Look closely, and you may even spot the signature of Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
The scooping station: This station lets you connect with coffee masters as they hand scoop, weigh and bag your choice of freshly roasted Starbucks Reserve coffee.
The cask: A 56-foot iconic copper cask serves as both a visual and functional centerpiece of the Roastery. Beyond its striking beauty, it plays an essential role in removing the skin, or chaff, from freshly roasted coffee as it travels through transparent pneumatic tubes to dispensers around the Roastery, where baristas use the freshly roasted beans to craft beverages.
Second floor: Food worth savoring
Sit and savor: Pick one of the many comfortable seats on this floor to enjoy your coffee and food, all while taking in stunning views of downtown Chicago.
Starbucks Reserve Café: You’ll find freshly baked pastries and food such as sandwiches, pizza-style flatbread, desserts and more.
Look up: The ceilings on floors two, three and four feature a slatted design inspired by the underside of Chicago’s iconic L train overpasses. The ceiling also features a teal gradient and bronze slats to give the ceiling a subtle sunburst effect radiating from the cask.
Third floor: Coffee craft at its best
Experiential coffee bar: Here, you get front-row seats as world-class baristas demonstrate mesmerizing and beautiful brewing methods, like the syphon filter, allowing you to delve deep into the sensory experience and innovation of coffee craft.
The flavor wheel: Inspired by the tasting profiles the Starbucks coffee team uses to qualify our unique Starbucks Reserve coffee, these profiles organize the tasting components of coffee through aroma, mouthfeel, acidity and flavor. Baristas at the Roastery use this a teaching tool to describe the notes and nuances of featured coffees.
Fourth floor: Cocktails, meet coffee
Arriviamo cocktail bar: On this floor, mixologists craft an elevated menu of coffee-inspired beverages and cocktails, including the signature Espresso Martini. The space blends the energy of a cocktail bar with coffee craft and innovation.
