Groundswell Brings Fine Coffees to Chicago's Fine Arts Building

Howard Bryman| August 13, 2026 Inside the new Groundswell Coffee cafe in Chicago’s Fine Arts building. All images courtesy of Groundswell Coffee. Chicago-basedGroundswell Coffee Roastersrode a slow but steady wave of growth into its third cafe inside the historic Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue. Opened in July, the 1,000-square-foot cafe pairs white counters, walls and ceiling beams with natural wood floors and doors and earthy tile along the bar. Wood-topped pedestal tables with metal bases sit beside a velvet couch, while a slatted wood accent wall echoes details in the building’s restoredStudebaker Theater. A tall, gilt-framed mirror near the entrance was salvaged from one of the building’s original elevators. On the bar, a whiteLa Marzocco Linea Classic Sespresso machine and white Mahlkönig grinders reinforce the bright palette. “My central goal for the interior was to create something that felt specific to the Fine Arts Building; not another vanilla, new-construction cafe that could exist anywhere,” Groundswell Coffee Founder Jason Foster told Daily Coffee News. Foster worked with architect Brian Hammersley ofHammersley ArchitectureandGooch Design Studioon the cafe, with Gooch leading the interior design. Both firms are Fine Arts Building tenants. “The finished cafe is contemporary but carries forward the building’s Art Deco character,” Foster said. “The goal was to create a bright, welcoming cafe that respects the building’s history and gives its community of artists, students, theater goers and downtown visitors a natural place to gather.” More than a year in the making, the new cafe opened nearly a decade after Groundswell’sWest Loop cafedebuted in 2016. Since then, the company has expanded its wholesale business and upgraded production from a 5-kilogram Diedrich IR5 to a 15-kilogram Giesen W15A roaster. An exclusive Groundswell x Fine Arts Building roast debuted with the cafe, which also serves breakfast burritos, all-day sandwiches and pastries fromFulton

Howard Bryman| August 13, 2026 Inside the new Groundswell Coffee cafe in Chicago’s Fine Arts building.

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