Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Permanently Closed
Roastery with specialty beans, coffee bar, full bar, bakery
Roastery with specialty beans, coffee bar, full bar, bakery
"At some point, it’s likely a loved one has tugged at your sleeve, begging for a hit of the siren sauce straight from the source. If so, you might know that all of the Willy Wonka-like mise en scène here creates the illusion that there’s cool coffee nerd sh*t happening—but it’s all theater. Rather, this is a hellish alternate dimension where you fork over $9 for a small (whoopsie…“tall”) latte that tastes like farm dirt. It’s pretty much the same stuff, only more expensive. Best to use this place for the bar, where the cold brew cocktails don’t taste half bad. Or browse the merch and get a silly “coffee person” hat that’ll end up at Goodwill in a month. 0, unless you count the addition of an affogato" - kayla sager riley, aimee rizzo
"A three-decade-old location of the national coffee chain is closing on Sunday, December 1, according to the San Francisco Business Times. While the store’s age is noted, attention has focused on the address’s association with venture capitalist Neil Mehta, who has drawn the suspicion and ire of some local retail tenants for his contribution to the nonprofit Upper Fillmore Revitalization project; the nonprofit told the Business Times that the chain declined to extend its lease." - Brenna Houck
"At some point, it’s likely a loved one has tugged at your sleeve, begging for a hit of the siren sauce straight from the source. If so, you might know that all of the Willy Wonka-like mise en scène here creates the illusion that there’s cool coffee nerd sh*t happening—but it’s all theater. Rather, this is a hellish alternate dimension where you fork over $9 for a small (whoopsie…“tall”) latte that tastes like farm dirt. It’s pretty much the same stuff, only more expensive. Best to use this place for the bar, where the cold brew cocktails don’t taste half bad. Or browse the merch and get a silly “coffee person” hat that’ll end up at Goodwill in a month." - Aimee Rizzo
"On June 23, Starbucks’ flagship roastery in Seattle was the first location to kick off the wave of strikes that later spread to more than 150 stores nationwide; these actions press the company to negotiate a fair contract and respond to reports of anti-LGBTQ policy changes, and follow a 2022 NLRB finding that Starbucks had been “failing and refusing to bargain collectively” at unionized Portland and Seattle-based stores." - Janey Wong
"On Pike Street I found a 15,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery — the company's first store to be branded a Roastery and one of its most famous — which Starbucks’ website calls “an immersive and dramatic expression of our passion for coffee,” even likening it to “if Willy Wonka had built the ultimate coffee shop instead of a chocolate factory.” Customers can book tours and tasting experiences, and there’s an extensive food and drink menu that includes beer, wine, and liquor. Despite that theatrical presentation, unionized workers at the Roastery organized a strike on the eve of Pride Weekend (part of a wider action at about 150 Starbucks locations) to protest management’s refusal so far to bargain or recognize the union and amid accusations—denied by Starbucks—that employees were ordered to take down Pride decorations. The Roastery was the first store in the country to walk out: staff staged a quiet walkout on June 22 at 9 p.m., an hour before closing, achieved 100% participation so managers had to close the store, and later marched outside with pro-union signs while a closed-door notice informed arriving customers. This was the second walkout this year, with the earlier April action driven largely by chronically understaffed bartenders who want credit-card tipping and better staffing; Starbucks says tipping technology rolled out May 4, 2022, could not be installed at the Roastery because employees filed an NLRB petition, and the company has challenged the Roastery’s mail-in election while an in-person tally showed 38 votes for unionizing and 27 against out of 104 potential voters." - Harry Cheadle