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In the late 19th century, the global nexus of café culture returned to Vienna for arguably the greatest stretch of coffee-fueled creativity known to man. This is when every convention of the modern coffeehouse—the many-antlered coat rack, the marble tabletop, the day's newspaper spread Torah-like on bamboo holders—fell into place, and its role as the intellectual sparring ring was cemented.

— Michael Idov, "Coffeehouses, Bringing the Buzz Back," WSJ (December 1, 2009.)

 

As with most startups, Perfect Market has a 24/7/365 work ethic fueled by gallons of coffee and buckets of espresso beans. So, it was with no small delight when, en route from Chicago to LAX many months ago, a member of our exec team sat next to Danny Mellinkoff, a Southern California landlord with a singular vision: bring Intelligentsia Coffee to Old Pasadena.

Pasadena Passion Project

The Chicago-based premium coffee shop has in recent years opened award-winning outposts in Silver Lake and Venice. But when the Perfect Market team heard Intelligentsia would be expanding to Colorado Blvd in Old Pasadena, we nearly died of joy. (Old Pasadena is home to our Idealab headquarter offices and a quick five minute drive from the Perfect Market offices in Altadena).

When Intelligentsia Pasadena needed some support in navigating the vagaries of city ordinances, one Perfect Market staffer wrote an empassioned letter to Pasadena City Council endorsing the company's newest endeavor. Key among the points was what a boon Intelligentsia, and its proposed new offerings, would be to the Old Pasadena community.

This got Sheigh and me an exclusive behind-the-scenes peak at the new Intelligentsia and a tour from Danny who lobbied hard with both Intelligentsia and the city to get a little piece of foodie-heaven into his historic property at 55 Colorado Blvd.

Intelligentsia's Commitment to Good Design Reappears in Pasadena

When Intelligentsia isn't winning national barista competitions, the company is winning architectural awards thanks to the inspired builds and stylings of Ana Henton of MASS Architecture + Design. While Henton's Silver Lake Intelligentsia design features arched windows in an adobe-like structure floored with Mission tiles, the Venice coffeebar is fresh and sleek with stadium style seating and a butcher block "concierge desk." Intelligentsia's Old Pasadena outpost captures the intrinsic charm of the high street dating back to the turn-of-the-century while still infusing it with the fresh and new.

From the minute you step into Intelligentsia Pasadena, you’re struck by the care and attention to detail that has gone into its construction. Structural details from the original building in the 1800s peep through sleek updated edifices. Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia's Director of Innovation, and owner Doug Zell, care deeply about providing a truly spectacular experience from the shop’s ambience, to the coffee brewed, to the food that they’ll be providing in house. Everything is thoughtful and pays homage to the original surroundings.

Expansion Into Pasadena Wasn't Exactly Top Of Mind For Intelligentsia

Kyle, Doug, and their new landlord Danny, all have a deep reverence for both coffee house culture and the history and culture of Old Pasadena. This doesn’t mean the move was an easy sell—initially the owners balked at Pasadena.

"I really wasn't familiar with Pasadena when we first moved out to California," Glanville said. He held the admittedly mistaken view that Pasadena was “squaresville,” mostly because his sole reference was the song “Little Old Lady from Pasadena.” (Can you blame him for thinking it might be stuffy?).

However, the space, the location, and Danny’s exuberance soon won them over. They respect the area’s history and are excited by its present—Kyle even gave Idealab a shout out for the best of “new” Pasadena (we, naturally, agree).

A Return to Coffee Culture

Setting up shop in Pasadena has had its challenges. The city’s historic preservation codes, however, fit beautifully into the Intelligentsia Pasadena aesthetic—a momentous emphasis was placed on embracing both the building’s past and present potential.

It is a sensibility that fits well with Intelligentsia's approach to coffee culture.They are reviving the old world reverence for coffee houses and translating it to the new American culture and lifestyle. Intelligentsia Pasadena draws inspiration from the brasserie model—that is the “spectacular food and beverages” served in a casual and cool environment that still “pays homage to the Pasadena vibe.”

Yet, as Danny told us during our building tour, until the shop opens and fills with people (hopefully imminently!) we won’t be able to truly grasp the Intelligentsia Pasadena experience. This is because Intelligentsia believes in letting the shop’s patrons take ownership of the space. In their view, it is the people of Pasadena who will make Intelligentsia their own and truly establish its localized vibe and tone.

It’s this kind of enlightened thinking that set’s Intelligentsia apart.

Old Town Meets New

The idea behind Intelligentsia Pasadena is a return to the old European coffee shop model. Where coffee is something to be enjoyed and savored at all times of the day—not just slurped down in the daze of the morning commute. In Kyle’s words, they’re bringing “coffee to another level” and “fine dining to a casual level.” They’re creating an American homage to European coffee culture and, as a new wrinkle for Intelligentsia, the company is preparing to embrace Old Pasadena’s vibrant night life with an array of expanded offerings that celebrate another local brewing culture. (Hint.)

If you’ve visited the Intelligentsias in Chicago, Venice, or Silver Lake, you’ll have noticed that each has a distinct style and flavor—no cookie cutter Starbucks here. Pasadena continues this trend. Intelligentsia, their architect and landlord have all thought deeply about the history of both Old Pasadena and the reclaimed aspects of the building that the shop will inhabit.

A self professed history and architecture geek, I was awed by the care and creativity that has gone into the building’s design.

An example from an office on the second floor of the building (not Intelligentsia’s) that gives you a sense of this level of historical detail: the hinges on the doors are original to the building. If you’ve never seen a Victorian hinge, you’re in from an amazing sight. The brass hinge is decorated with intricate stamped designs, transforming the hinge from utilitarian to a piece of decorative art.

We’re excited to see how this thoughtful approach to coffee and construction will manifest themselves in the finished result.

Embracing Pasadena: Pawn Shops, Adult Book Stores and Mega Retailers

Not only does the new Intelligentsia embrace Pasadena’s past, but it’s fully engaged in the present as well. Danny lobbied hard to get Intelligentsia to move to Pasadena. While he may have had to persuade a mega-retailer to embrace its neighbors, one thing he didn’t have to sell Intelligentsia on was the old pawn shop next door and an adult book store two doors down.

The Intelligentsia owners liked this quirky and unexpected element. It fits in well with the coffee/bar approach they’ve developed for Pasadena. And that’s also what make’s Intelligentsia so special: the unexpected elements that make their approach both coffee and design entirely unique.

But What About Parking?

One of the best things about the new Intelligentsia—ample seating and parking! On the main level, seventy-three seats means that the space is the ideal workspace (you may see more than a few Perfect Market and Idealab staffers logging onto Intelli's free wifi).

But for those who have to dine and dash, we’ve got some secret Pasadena parking tips.

1. The meters in front of the shop are free until 11am (score!).

2. There are three parking lots with free 90 minute parking within a minute's walk of Intelligentsia.

Oh, and did we mention the eight new Intelligentsia baristas personally trained by Michael Phillips, this year's World Barista Champion.

We’re so excited about having Intelligentsia in the neighborhood we’re already Mayor on Foursquare (jealous, I know). Wonder if this will get us a coffee?

— Lee Glandorf

Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeGlandorf