As we told you last week, Chicago was recently named the America’s Most Caffeinated City... just in time for today, National Coffee Day. more ›

Remember those big cups Starbucks promised everyone? Well, the wait is over, Chicago. more ›

McDonald's has been getting some traction in the news cycles regarding its nationwide job search today. The Oakbrook-headquartered company is looking to hire 50,000 people to jobs ranging from restaurant crew members to salaried management today. (Here is a list of McDonald's 1,500 open job availabilities in the Chicago area.) more ›

If you thought Groupon was serious about global domination before, wait until you see what they did now. None other than Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been elected to the company's Board of Directors. Coincidentally, Maveron LLC, the venture capital company founded by Schultz, made an undisclosed stake in the company, furthering speculation that a Groupon IPO is imminent. more ›

Last week, Stephen Colbert flipped his lid when it was revealed that 7-11 was downsizing the super big gulp from 44 to 40 ounces. Apparently, someone at Starbucks was listening. Yesterday, the coffee behemoth announced that it was rolling out a new size, the 31 ounce "Trenta." This hasn't been a great month for the marketing team at Starbucks. This important contribution to America's obesity epidemic, following on the heels of last week's roundly-mocked logo change, hasn't done much to burnish the coffee chain's hip image. more ›

First Pepsi, now Starbucks - a new year, a new logo. Starbucks, the Seattle based coffee giant that secretly controls our lives from an underground coffee vault buried in the Cascade mountains, has reworked its logo yet again. There is no longer any mention of coffee in the logo, because who would ever expect Starbucks to be limited to just coffee? According to a statement that the CEO gave to the Seattle Weekly, this marks Starbucks' diversification - now they can sell whatever they want, which apparently they couldn't while their logo mentioned coffee. We can see the confusion: a patron walks into a Starbucks, sees a breakfast sandwich and freaks out, screaming for coffee and only coffee. Never again. more ›

• In his testimony today, former police officer Michael McDermott downplayed his earlier claims of witnessing Jon Burge torture a suspect in 1985.
• The Tribune delves into the reverse commute.
• A man who jumped off an Eisenhower Expressway overpass as he tried to flee police earned himself a slew of charges and a broken ankle.

If you're flying through Terminal Two at O'Hare this weekend, Starbucks won't be around to meet your caffeine needs. The coffee shop has been shut down by the Dumpster Task Force thanks to insects. A visit was made on June 4th when a warning was issued and the shop was shut down yesterday when a return visit yielded the same results as before. No word on when the shop will be reopened. [CBS 2] more ›

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Today's free giveaway involves the Emerald Behemoth of the West. To promote the launch of their new Full Leaf Tazo® Tea Lattes and Tea Infusions, all area Starbucks will be hosting a tea time at 2 p.m., where they'll be offering free samples of their new tea offerings. more ›

A crash between a cab and a car sent the cab careening into the Starbucks at North Ave. and Wells St. early this morning. Each car only had a driver and no pedestrians were hurt. Both drivers were being treated for injuries at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but neither were believed to be serious. more ›

Trib says four, Sun-Times says three people were taken to area hospitals when when a car driven by an elderly woman plowed into a West Rogers Park Starbucks. There is no evidence the driver of the car was intoxicated, or hyped up on cafinated beverages. [S-T, Trib] more ›

A wee exaggeration on our part: the two stores scheduled for shuttering are not literally across the street from other stores (the Country Club Hills store is four miles from the nearest one and the other in Elmhurst is a few blocks). The Trib offers a deeper meaning: "To people who live in more fashionable ZIP codes, the loss of a Starbucks might not be viewed as a wound to civic pride. But in Country Club Hills, the opening of the ubiquitous chain in May 2007 signified a certain cachet." Cachet or no, a few moments with our bff Google confirms that there are places in the area other than Starbucks where one can get a cup of Good Morming America. more ›

Starbucks announced the first round of store closing across the nation, and Chicago came out unscathed ... so far. more ›

One woman was killed and three others injured early this morning when the car she was driving struck a pillar supporting the elevated Green Line in the 3700 block of West Lake Street. [Trib, S-T] more ›

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If you're cramming for a test, need a post-dinner pick me up or want a Paul McCartney CD between the hours of 5:30 and 8:30 tonight, you'll have to go somewhere other than Starbucks. Nearly all of the coffee chain's locations will be closed for a company-wide education and training session for employees. Dunkin' Donuts just happens to have a promotion running today and will be giving away free lattes. Our favorite quote in the Trib's story comes courtesy of Frances Allen, Dunkin' Donuts' brand marketing officer: "We never want any customers to ever be denied access to their specialty drinks." You tell 'em, Ms. Allen. Let's draft a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Frappuncino availability. more ›

Chicago is a great city for tea drinkers. With all of its independent coffee shops, Argo Tea’s 10 locations and the opulent snobbery of high tea at the Drake, it takes something pretty special to get noticed around here. Operating out of a cute (but tiny) storefront at 1160 N. State, TeaGschwendner easily stands up to the competition. Their store carries more than 300 varieties of high quality, loose-leaf tea, tea brewing paraphernalia and many attractive china tea sets. more ›

A few months ago, Ann Sather packed up and moved a few doors east into a brand-spankin’ new location at 909 W. Belmont. The old location was put up for sale, and it was anyone’s guess who would win the bid to settle in. It always makes us nervous when there is retail space for rent in our neighborhood; because we would rather see a distinctive new business that will bring character to the area, instead of another Starbucks, Jamba Juice, or Potbelly’s. more ›

"Whether or not this new kid will go on to become the prom king or get his head stuck in a toilet is unclear," we wrote when Sunflower market first opened, "but we certainly will come back for more." But we, and others, didn't come back for enough. Minneapolis-based Supervalu will close all five Sunflower locations (there are three in Ohio, one in Indianapolis and the Chicago location.) Supervalu had at one point hoped to open 50 Sunflower stores. The five current stores employed a total of 140 people. A company spokeswoman said only that the stores did not meet the company's goals. more ›

In addition to an extensive (38) list of tea shops, Ms. Blumberg also includes 3 other sections. For tea tourists, or those who love the formality and dignity of an afternoon tea service, the guide lists everywhere in Chicago where you can find a formal Afternoon Tea, as well as how much they cost and what you can expect for your money. Ms. Blumberg includes a list of restaurants that serve "Bubble Tea" - that wonderful cold drink filled with tapioca balls that are sucked up with a giant straw. Links to popular tea websites are also provided. All the Tea in Chicago is attractive and pocket-sized, and it provides a needed look at an often-overlooked topic – go pick it up! more ›

Having tasted the Holy Grail of coffee in October, we were curious to see how some also-rans fared, in comparison. By chance we came across a second place winner from last year's Nicaragua Cup of Excellence while making our monthly bean run at our local coffee shop. more ›

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at... more ›

It's part of our national schizophrenia as Americans. Every year we bemoan the exploitation of Christmas, and every year we spend more and more money that we really don't have to buy crap to give to each other "in the spirit of the season." There's a great movie to be made about the overcommercialization of Christmas; What Would Jesus Buy? is not exactly that movie, but it still offers a lot of food for... more ›

$25,000 in new equipment and $75,000 in remodeling is all it will take for McDonald's across the country to begin serving specialty coffees. The Oak Brook-based company announced that it plans to roll out specialty coffees, smoothies and frappes at the company's annual analysts meeting yesterday. McDonald's President Don Thompson announced, "We want to move from beverages as an accompaniment to beverages as a destination," which is funny only to the extent that one can imagine hopping on a plane that's heading to "beverage" as a final destination (we bet there are delicious alcoholic drinks served for free on that flight). more ›

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just... more ›

Being in the heart of the Flyover Zone, we can only live the Pinkberry phenomenon vicariously through the eyes and words of our partners-in-Ist while we wait for a Chicago location to open. When that happens, the company's founders should have some serious cash backing their play. Pinkberry's founders are expected to announce later today that they've raised $27.5 million in initial venture capital. Much of the financing was acquired by Maveron, a venture capital... more ›