Chicago

Crate & Barrel Set to Close Michigan Avenue Store as World's Largest Starbucks Moves In

After 27 years, Crate & Barrel will vacate its iconic Michigan Avenue storefront at the end of the month to make room for the world’s largest Starbucks said to open in Chicago next year.

Curbed Chicago reports the company will close its flagship store along the Magnificent Mile on Jan. 24, possibly sooner. 

"This building has a unique way of becoming a beacon for a brand, and I can’t think of a better retailer than Starbucks to offer Chicago something new and exciting with its Reserve Roastery,” Gordon Segal, founder of Crate and Barrel, said in a statement.

Starbucks secured a building permit with an estimated $10 million in construction costs for the 43,000-square-foot space at 646 N. Michigan Ave. The space will reopen as a four-story Starbucks Reserve Roastery that will include a bakery and a rooftop deck.

According to the company, the roastery will be a “fully sensorial coffee environment dedicated to roasting, brewing and packaging its rare, small-batch Starbucks Reserve coffees from around the world.”

The interactive space will feature multiple brewing methods, a new menu of coffees and mixology and fresh baking on-site.

It will be the third roastery to open in the U.S. behind the flagship Seattle location, which opened in 2014, and one slated to open in New York this year.

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