Starbucks Picks Chicago To Debut Standalone Italian Pizza Bakeries

Customers can already drink booze at select Starbucks, but now the coffee company is expanding into pizza. The company plans to debut a line of standalone Italian bakeries in America and open their first location in the West Loop. The coffee chain wants to open Princi bakeries in Chicago, New York and Seattle by 2018.

The bakeries are named for Rocco Princi who opened his first Princi in 1986 in Milan, Italy. DNAinfo speculated that the bakery could open in the West Loop. Starbucks had signed a lease for a space at 1000 W. Randolph St. A company spokeswoman didn’t confirm the location but did tell the website that Chicago’s Princi could open late next year or early 2018.

There are four Princis in Italy and a fifth in London. Besides their breads, they feature focaccia and Neapolitan pizzas. It’s unknown if the American Princis will serve the same food or offer a special U.S. menu.

Princi has supplied baked goods to select Starbucks across the world, include Shanghai and New York. The coffee company believes that its small-batch Starbucks Reserve drinks will pair well with Princi’s items. These Reserve coffees are already served at the Starbucks Express location inside Union Station.

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