Starbucks’ sixth Reserve Roastery in Chicago is its largest of its 30,000+ global store portfolio, measuring 35,000sq ft over five floors
Reserve Roasteries represent the pinnacle of Starbucks’ brand hierarchy and are designed to give the coffee chain a world-class store footing in key international markets
The Chicago
Reserve Roastery joins Starbucks' existing international portfolio of super high-end stores in Seattle, Shanghai,
Milan, New York and
Tokyo.
Intended as a ‘five-story celebration of coffee, craft and Chicago’, the Chicago Reserve Roastery will produce small batches of Starbucks' specialty Reserve brand coffee. The store hosts also a boutique Milanese Princi bakery and Arriviamo Bar serving coffee-infused cocktails.
Prominent design features include a 56-foot steel degassing cask, the largest structure of its kind among Starbucks' Reserve Roastery portfolio. A curved escalator affords visitors a 360-degree panorama of the coffee roasting process.
The premium store experience also comes with a premium price tag. An espresso at the Chicago Reserve Roastery costs $4.50
compared to $1.95 across most of the coffee chain’s standard US store portfolio.
“These Roasteries amplify the Starbucks brand, serve as innovation hubs, and create experiences for millions of customers around the world,” said Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.
The Reserve Roastery concept represents the pinnacle of Starbucks’
brand hierarchy and is designed to give the coffee chain a world-class store footing in key international markets.
Premiumisation is increasingly being deployed by large chains in developed markets to generate higher average ticket sales returns from store expansion alone diminish.