Broadway Intelligentsia Closes for Makeover, Doubling Seating

After nearly 18 years in East Lake View, Intelligentsia’s Broadway Coffeebar will be closed through mid-April with owners planning an interior makeover.

The coffee company announced the development plans on their website, saying the original Intelligentsia location opened in 1995, and now, it’s time for an upgrade.

“While we now operate in many cities, our Broadway location is still home,” owners say on their website. “This April, we'll be doing a little spring cleaning and giving Broadway a facelift. Look for more of everything that you love, as well as some great new features.”

The at-times crowded coffee shop will have twice the seating when it’s completed, according to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce. That’s combined with new furniture throughout, a new quartz coffee bar and a second bar in the back of the storefront with new brew methods and limited edition items.

That’s combined with some infrastructure upgrades. The storefront at 3123 N. Broadway St. is slated to get new plumbing and flooring, along with new doors, the building permit notes. Those items alone are expected to cost $20,000.

The new space will be featured to the public during an open house, scheduled for April 17 at 6 p.m. Updates on the construction will be published on their new Twitter account @IntilliCHI.

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