Chicago, United States — More than six years after its grand opening, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile continues to hold the title of the world’s largest Starbucks location. As confirmed by Starbucks’ official website and recent features—including a dedicated article published just days ago on March 17, 2026—the five-story flagship spans 35,000 square feet and remains an unmatched immersive destination for coffee enthusiasts worldwide.
Opened on November 15, 2019, at 646 North Michigan Avenue in a repurposed former Crate & Barrel building, the Chicago Roastery was designed to push the boundaries of the Starbucks experience far beyond a typical café. The space transforms coffee culture into a theatrical, multi-sensory journey, often described by the company itself as a “cathedral of coffee.”
At the heart of the ground floor stands a massive, custom-built roaster where master roasters process rare Starbucks Reserve beans in real time. Visitors can witness the entire roasting process up close, with roasted beans traveling dramatically through a network of gleaming copper pneumatic tubes that snake across multiple floors, delivering fresh coffee directly to various bars in a captivating “bean-to-cup” spectacle.
The venue features several specialized bars: a main Starbucks Reserve Coffee Bar for premium pour-overs and espressos, an Experiential Coffee Bar showcasing innovative brewing methods like siphon and Clover systems, and a Barrel-Aged Coffee Bar offering unique aged coffee creations. Complementing the coffee focus is the Arriviamo Cocktail Bar, where expert mixologists craft sophisticated drinks incorporating coffee, spirits, and seasonal ingredients—elevating the space into an evening destination as well.
Food offerings come courtesy of an on-site Princi bakery, the Italian-inspired partnership that brings fresh pastries, artisanal breads, pizzas, salads, and desserts to the menu. Exclusive Chicago-themed items, limited-edition merchandise, and high-end retail products—including rare beans and even luxury espresso machines—add to the appeal for collectors and tourists alike.
Architecturally, the Roastery impresses with its soaring design elements. A towering 56-foot-tall cask serves as the central centerpiece, wrapped in glowing lights during holiday seasons as part of immersive installations like the recent “Let It Glow” experience, which turned the space into a star-filled wonderland with interactive lighting and seasonal decor across four levels.
Compared to other global Roasteries, Chicago’s location stands out in scale. The Seattle original (the first, at around 15,000 square feet), Shanghai (30,000 square feet across two stories), Milan (25,000 square feet, the largest in Europe), New York (23,000 square feet over three floors), and Tokyo (previously a strong contender at about 32,000 square feet) all fall short of Chicago’s expansive five-story footprint. No new Roastery has surpassed it as of March 2026, solidifying its status as the pinnacle of Starbucks’ premium concept.
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