Starbucks Corp. is gearing up to open its world largest store in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The company announced its plan to set up a 20,000-square-foot roastery, that it calls "coffee-as-theater," in New York city.

The largest store is expected to be open in 2018. It will be modeled on the  Seattle roastery of the company and will be designed by Rafael Viñoly. At present, Starbucks has around  94 locations in the New York metro area.

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Howard Schultz., the Chairman and Chief Executive of  Starbucks, said that, “In New York we want to take elements from what we originally created and build something even bigger and bolder.”

Arlene Spiegel, a Manhattan restaurant and retail consultant, said that, “What they (Starbucks) have to do is reinforce their dominance as a premium coffee supplier and this is how they do it.”

Nandini