Caffé Intermezzo is moving to an expanded space at 50 21st St. in
the Strip District. Four times larger than its current location at 2018 Smallman St., the new 1,200 square-foot café will seat 36 people and feature a mezzanine, bar stools and sidewalk seating.
“We’ve seen our customer base grow. We wouldn’t be expanding if we didn’t feel there was more market to capture,” says Lucas Shaffer, who owns Caffé Intermezzo with his wife Alexis. They also run a location downtown at 437 Grant St. in
The Frick Building.
Shaffer, 30, views expansion in terms of creating a more vibrant downtown. “We’re trying to make this corner of the Strip a little nicer--that’s our part. Maybe more people will want to move into the
Cork Factory. Pittsburgh is poised for great things.”
With the move, Caffé Intermezzo will launch coffee cuppings and classes, train new staff and offer an expanded menu. The café will also debut its new Clover, a top of the line single cup commercial grade coffee brewer, making Intermezzo the second shop in Pennsylvania to own one.
“I can’t wait to see our customers in one place at the same time. We’ll be one of the only coffeehouses down here with seating,” says Shaffer, who is most passionate when discussing the Intelligentsia coffee he serves. “A lot of customers tell us we’re the best in the area. Now we can take the training wheels off and go into the full-blown place. We’re like the new kid on the block.”
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Lucas Shaffer, Caffé Intermezzo
Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene