Aside from its headquarters at 1850 W. Fulton Street, Intelligentsia has several cafe retail locations throughout the Chicago area. They supply coffee to various Chicago-area cafes and restaurants, as well as other locations in the US and Canada.[3][4][5] They generally buy their beans directly from growers in Central America, South America, East Africa, and Ethiopia.[6] They currently[when?] operate four gas-powered Ideal Rapid Gothot Roasters at the Chicago Roasting Works. Two 90-kilo roasters and a 23-kilo reside in Chicago and a 40 kilo in Los Angeles. The machines date from the 1950s and were handcrafted from cast-iron and steel in Stuttgart, Germany.[6]
On August 17, 2007, Intelligentsia opened its first store outside of Chicago at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake, a district east of Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.[7] Intelligentsia has opened two additional stores in the Los Angeles area, in Venice and Pasadena.[8] In 2013, Intelligentsia opened its first store in New York City inside The High Line Hotel.[9] The second New York City location opened in June 2014, inside the Urban Outfitters store in Herald Square. This is the first location to offer a full food menu.[10] They also have 2 stores in Boston and one in Austin, Texas.[11]
A 2008 decision to stop serving 20-ounce coffee and espresso beverages in stores was met with controversy. Zell stated that the proportions are altered at such large quantities and certain drinks become watered-down, arguing that 20-ounce drinks end up "masking and adulterating the pure, intense flavors we work hard to source, roast and produce. We don't want this to just be a caffeine delivery device."[12]
In October 2015, it was announced that Peet's Coffee & Tea would buy a majority stake in Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea by the end of the year, as part of an expansion of Peet's into third wave coffee that also involved the acquisition of Stumptown Coffee Roasters.[2] Intelligentsia was expected to continue operating independently, with founders Zell and Mange retaining a role in the company.[14] The announcement came weeks after Intelligentsia had made known that it was seeking a private equity buy-out over $100 million.[14]
In May 2022 employees working in Intelligentsia's Chicago locations and Roasting Works warehouse filed a petition for union representation.[15] In August 2022, employees voted to unionize, and ratified their first collective bargaining agreement in December 2022.[16][17] They are represented by IBEW 1220, the same branch of IBEW that represents Colectivo Coffee Roasters.[18]
Honors
In 2006, Intelligentsia was included on several local[19][20][21] and national[22][23][24] best-of lists. One of their baristas also won national and international honors.[25][26]
It has been winning local best of list recognition from 2000 to 2005.[27][28][29][30]
In 2005, the local[31][32][33][34]
recognition extended to national[35]
recognition. In 2006, Intelligentsia was included on several local[36]
and national[37][38][39] "best" lists.