All photos by Taylor Morabito
[J]oining Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston, Austin, Texas, is now on the roster of cities playing host to Intelligentsia Coffee. Opening last week on August 21 in downtown’s Third + Shoal building, the brand’s new outpost brings exceptional seasonal coffees to Austin, all of which are directly sourced from Intelligentsia’s longtime partners in 14 countries.
The 30-seat coffee bar serves single-origin coffees curated by baristas every morning, as well as espresso drinks and brewed teas from Kilogram. On tap are six coffee and tea drinks: cold coffee, nitro cold coffee, nitro latte, nitro matcha oat milk latte, iced tea, and a seasonal drink (currently, “Limelight,” made with cold coffee, sparkling tonic, and lime juice). Exclusive to the Austin location is “The Roadrunner,” which is cold coffee, fresh-pressed grapefruit juice, and soda, over ice. The food menu, which features a variety of croissants, Danishes, cookies, and other specialty items, is built in collaboration with local businesses Easy Tiger and Sour Duck Market.
Intelligentsia worked with Austin-based architect Scott Magic, whose design was deeply inspired by Texas Hill Country swimming holes. Staying local in his sourcing as well, materials for the construction of the space were all found within 25 miles of Austin, with the horseshoe-shaped bar itself built out of Texas Gray Lueders limestone (the same stone found in the swimming holes). Local artist Erin Curtis designed the café’s mural, titled “We Are Living on a Star”; as with Intelligentsia’s iconic Silver Lake tile, the mural design has been immortalized as an enamel pin for customers who want to take a piece of the café with them.
