Chicago-based Groundswell Coffee Roasters rode 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 restored Studebaker Theater.

A tall, gilt-framed mirror near the entrance was salvaged from one of the building’s original elevators. On the bar, a white La Marzocco Linea Classic S espresso 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 of Hammersley Architecture and Gooch Design Studio on 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’s West Loop cafe debuted 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 from Fulton Market bakery Good Ambler.

“Like everyone in hospitality, the pandemic was a major challenge,” Foster said. “But making it through that period and reaching the point where we could invest in a project as ambitious as Fine Arts feels significant.”

For now, Groundswell is focused on settling into the Fine Arts Building while continuing to grow its wholesale business. Foster said no additional cafes are in the works, although he has not ruled out future locations.

“I’m interested in thoughtful growth,” Foster said. “But I’m much more interested in distinctive spaces with genuine character and community than in opening locations simply for the sake of adding units.”

Groundswell Coffee Roasters is located at 410 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

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