Intelligentsia Going Small

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jul 9, 2008 4:35PM

The Tribune reports today that Intelligentsia will no longer sell 20-ounce cups of drip coffee or espresso drinks, effective August 1. Company founder and President Doug Zell said the move is all part of Intelligentsia's larger plan to "focus(ing) on intensity of flavors and providing coffee in the way it tastes best," a philosophy that Zell has long espoused.

Intelligentsia marketing director Marc Johnson, responding to a request for comment from Chicagoist, said that he and Zell are stunned that this has become a big deal. "This wasn’t a press release or anything as strategic as that. We simply put an 8” x 10” sign on our countertop letting our customers know that this change was coming." We can certainly empathize, but this is the City of Big Shoulders, emphasis on "big." Anytime something is taken down in size, much ado is made.