WORLD’S LARGEST STARBUCKS COMING TO MAG MILE
Will replace flagship Crate & Barrel store
The theme park of coffee is coming to Chicago’s marquee shopping district in a move that a downtown alderman calls further proof of the “changing face” of retailing.
A four- story, 43,000- square- foot Starbucks Reserve and Roastery billed as the world’s largest Starbucks will replace the flagship Crate & Barrel store at 646 N. Michigan Ave.
The new store is expected to open in 2019. It will be the largest of three “interactive” stores where Starbucks coffee will be roasted, brewed and packaged. The first such concept store opened in December 2014 in Seattle, where Starbucks’ corporate headquarters is located.
The second Starbucks Roastery is scheduled to open next year in New York City.
According to the mayor’s office, the new store at Michigan and Erie will “bring coffee craft to life” by showcasing “multiple brewing methods, specialty Reserve bever- ages and mixology.”
“Chicago’s Magnificent Mile brings in millions of visitors from across this globe and is the perfect location for a world- class coffee destination,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks, said Chicago is a “very special city for me” because it’s the city where the first Starbucks to be built outside of Seattle opened nearly 30 years ago.
Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly said he’s “sad to see” Crate & Barrel leaving after a “good, long run” on Michigan Avenue.
But the decision by Starbucks to build an “experience store” in its place makes sense and underscores the changing face of retailing, he said.
“Not long ago, if you wanted to buy dishes at Crate & Barrel, you’d have to physically walk into the store to get them. Not anymore. You simply go online and click to order. The traditional retail box model will continue to decline over time,” Reilly wrote in an email.
“That doesn’t mean retail stores will become obsolete. They’re simply changing.”
Reilly noted that “Verizon, AT& T, Apple and others” are seeing great success with the experience store model on Michigan Avenue. It makes “perfect sense” for Starbucks to join the parade, he said.
“It is, in effect, a massive coffee ‘ experience’ store — that doesn’t just sell coffee, it invites customers to participate,” Reilly said.
John Chikow, president and CEO of the Magnificent Mile Association, predicted that Chicago’s Starbucks Roastery would fast become a tourist attraction.
He said there is no end to the public’s fascination with coffeemaking.
“Why is the craft beer and distillery industry growing by leaps and bounds? People are looking for new twists and opportunities to expand their horizons on things they’ve always known,” Chikow said.