New Groundswell Coffee Roasters cafe opens in Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building this August

New Groundswell Coffee Roasters cafe opens in Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building this August

Cafe will offer exclusive Groundswell x Fine Arts Building coffee roast

CHICAGO — Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building and Groundswell Coffee Roasters are excited to announce the opening of a new Groundswell Coffee cafe at the Fine Arts Building in August 2025, located in the storefront at 410 S. Michigan Avenue adjacent to the former Artists Cafe space. The new Groundswell Coffee location will be open Monday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, serving the thousands of artists and visitors who frequent the Fine Arts Building each week, including Studebaker Theater audiences and the surrounding downtown community.

“Inside the Fine Arts Building, the motto above the entryway is ‘Art Alone Endures’—this applies to all of the artmaking that has happened here for more than 125 years, and also artisanal businesses such as our newest tenant, Chicago-based specialty coffee roaster Groundswell Coffee,” says proprietor Erica Berger. “We are thrilled to welcome Groundswell to this storied location, and to reactivate the ground floor of the Fine Arts Building with its first new cafe in six years. Soon visitors will be able to grab coffee, pastries or lunch as the sounds of violins, tap dancing, or an opera rehearsal sing in the halls above them.”

The opening of Groundswell Coffee at the Fine Arts Building this summer is a continuation of the restoration and revitalization of this Chicago landmark building, including a multi-million-dollar restoration of its Studebaker Theater in 2021-2023 leading up to the Fine Arts Building’s 125th anniversary. This May, the Fine Arts Building and proprietor Erica Berger received a Preservation Excellence Award from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in recognition of their restoration of the building’s storefront façade along South Michigan Avenue.

"After a decade of owning and operating Groundswell Coffee Roasters, I was eager to create a space that stands out from the typical vanilla new construction-type cafes. I was looking for a place with character and history,” says Groundswell Owner & Founder Jason Foster. “When the opportunity arose to serve our coffee in the iconic Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue, it was an easy decision. This new venture marks an exciting next chapter—combining our passion for quality coffee with a space that inspires.”

The cafe will offer an exclusive Groundswell x Fine Arts Building coffee roast, along with other locally roasted and intentionally sourced coffees and expertly prepared coffee beverages from skilled baristas. Additional menu items include breakfast burritos and all-day sandwiches, and an assortment of fresh, locally baked pastries from a partner bakery.

Groundswell Coffee’s new location at the Fine Arts Building is approximately 1,000 square feet. The architect is Brian Hammersley of Hammersley Architecture, with interior design by Gooch Design Studio. Both businesses are based in the Fine Arts Building. Hammersley Architecture previously worked on the Studebaker Theater renovation.

Chicago-based Groundswell Coffee Roasters was founded in 2015 by Jason Foster and Armand Candea. Groundswell has two existing cafe locations in Ravenswood and the West Loop, as well as a wholesale business that supplies roasted specialty coffees to cafes, restaurants and other businesses. For more information, visit groundswellcoffeeroasters.com.

The Fine Arts Building, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2023, is a home for art in all forms: from pioneers like Poetry magazine’s founding publisher Harriet Monroe, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft and the Chicago Little Theatre, to the ongoing legacies of painters, musicians, booksellers, puppeteers, dancers, photographers and craftspeople who inhabit the building today, the Fine Arts Building is buzzing with more than a century of Chicago creativity and innovation. A Chicago Landmark since 1978, the building features original manually-operated elevators, Art Nouveau murals from the late 19th century and the recently renovated Studebaker Theater, one of the city’s oldest and most significant live theatrical venues. Second Fridays open studios events are free to attend from 5-9 p.m. on the second Friday of each month, and include gallery openings, special performances and artistic demonstrations. For more information, visit fineartsbuilding.com.


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