Intelligentsia’s Herald Square location in midtown Manhattan is now closed, as per the company’s official Twitter account. Sprudge gave the world its first look at the new cafe back in May of 2014, in a feature by Sprudge associate editor Liz Clayton. Eater NYC reported on the closure earlier today, using Twitter and social media for quotes, but the store’s been closed since April 30th, and signage appeared inside the cafe two weeks prior to closure informing customers of the impending bump.
To learn more we reached out to Intelligentsia’s Director of Communications Stephen Morrissey, who furnished us this quote:
“Our Herald Square store was doing really well—we really enjoyed being in Midtown, and we enjoyed serving that many people coffee in a new area of town for us. We’re bummed, it’s sad, and this is not something we’re trying to pretend is a cool thing. We had no options. We’ve tried to keep staff on as we could, and have our HR help people transition as much as possible. And we’re going to be opening in Brooklyn—location TBD, there’s a few being looked at right now, but the plan is to open in Brooklyn in the next 12 months.”
Intelligentsia’s coffee program at Herald Square was there by invitation of Urban Outfitters, whose flagship midtown temple to ripping off independent artists was paired with the independent Intelligentsia cafe. No one’s sure what Urban will do with the now-vacant space next, but the food program—described by Clayton as “a broad, largely takeaway food menu of cold and hot sandwiches and portable salads”—will likely be expanded. Or maybe they’ll use the spot for more quirky books, who knows.
Probs more of this.
Details on the upcoming Brooklyn expansion remain scarce, but stay tuned to Sprudge for news as it breaks.
Photos by Liz Clayton for Sprudge.com.
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