Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, Philz, and more are coming to town
Bostonians love their coffee, and while New England’s loyalty to Dunkin’ Donuts runs deep, there are plenty of out-of-towners making moves to contend for a portion of the local love.
Here’s a look at the non-local coffee companies that have started to lay down roots in Boston, many of which already provide the beans that fuel some of the local shops. Included are details on coffee companies that are eyeing the Greater Boston metro area for expansions in the coming years as well as those that have already debuted here recently and may or may not be adding even more locations.
This guide will be updated periodically as new information becomes available on these expansions and any others that come to light. Originally published on February 6, 2017.
Jump directly to a company:
Coming to Boston: Blue Bottle Coffee | Philz Coffee | Intelligentsia Coffee
Already here and expanding more: Caffe Nero | La Colombe
Already here but not currently growing: Ogawa Coffee | Caffe Bene
Plus: The Big Chains
Blue Bottle Coffee
This California-based chain emphasizes freshness and flavor and only sells coffee in its cafes made with beans roasted within the past 48 hours. Blue Bottle Coffee plans to open a location at 40 Bow St. in Cambridge in late summer 2017 and has plans for five cafes within the metro area.
Blue Bottle roasts its own beans and will soon add a 15,000-square-foot roasting facility in New York City. Baristas are trained to adjust the grind on the coffee beans each day to enhance the flavors, considering that "coffee’s main purpose is to be delicious," according to the Blue Bottle website.
Philz Coffee
A second California-based coffee chain is also making its way east and has tapped Boston as the next location for its expansion. Philz Coffee will open a Boston location sometime this year, 15 years after it first launched in San Francisco. There are now 27 Philz cafes in the Bay Area, six in Southern California, and two East Coast locations in Washington, DC.
Philz embraces coffee’s third wave of slowed-down brewing methods, serving coffee made "one cup at a time" with beans roasted in its Oakland, CA facility. In addition to a few different roasts, Philz also serves tea and hot chocolate, and some locations serve food.
The company also received a fresh round of funding to fuel an expansion, potentially bringing Philz locations to 50 in 2017.
Intelligentsia Coffee
This Chicago-based coffee roaster has coffee bar locations in New York and Los Angeles and distributes its beans to a handful of cafes in Boston (including Forge, Diesel and Bloc Café). There are also Intelligentsia training labs in Atlanta and New York, and now the company has tapped the Boston area for its next expansion. Intelligentsia will open a coffee bar and training lab in Watertown this spring, a rep for the company confirmed, and this will be the first Intelligentsia location with dedicated parking.
With increased demand for its coffee on the East Coast, Intelligentsia’s 3,200 square feet of space at 810 and 818 Mt. Auburn St. will help meet consumer needs. The Intelligentsia Coffeebar, which will be separate from the training lab and offices in Watertown, will put the company’s third wave processes front and center. There will be a chef’s table-style pour over bar to encourage customer interactions with baristas, and Intelligentsia plans to partner with a local bakery to stock the menu. The training lab will have programs for training wholesale customers on preparing coffee and espresso drinks.
Doug Zell and Emily Mange started Intelligentsia in Chicago in 1995 with a goal of creating a coffee bar featuring their own roasted coffee. All these years later, Intelligentsia continues to emphasize direct trade relationships and sustainability. In 2015, Peet's Coffee & Tea acquired a majority stake in Intelligentsia.
Caffe Nero
The London-based coffee shop that specializes in Italian espresso and cafe fare has had a presence in Boston for a few years now, but 2016 saw an influx of new Caffe Nero locations all around the city and into the suburbs, including Wellesley, Andover, Cambridge, and Brookline Village. There are even more on the way: New shops in South Boston and Brookline’s Washington Square are both in the works, and the company has grown so efficient with its openings that many cafes are up and running before the surrounding neighborhoods can say “double espresso.”
Boston’s first Caffe Nero appeared in mid-2014 in Downtown Crossing — and it was the first United States location overall, too. Find all the current locations here.
La Colombe
First started in Philadelphia, La Colombe has since opened locations in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, and one in Boston, near South Station, which made its debut early in 2016. The next location is planned for 250 West Newton St. in Back Bay, near the Prudential Center.
La Colombe puts a heavy focus on building a coffee dialogue between local coffee drinkers and the baristas, founder JP Iberti previously told Eater. It also offers a selection of signature drinks, including its draft latte, which is available in cans, and cold brew coffee. The cafes also offer a full lineup of espresso beverages along with light snacks.
Ogawa Coffee
This storied coffee chain from Japan chose Boston for its first international location. Ogawa Coffee opened a shop in Downtown Crossing in May of 2015, bringing its "pursuit of coffee perfection" to the U.S. The cafe serves a lineup of specialty coffee beverages, including cold espresso, a trio of single-origin coffees, hot and iced coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, and more, and there’s stadium-style seating so that coffee-lovers can easily watch the baristas at work.
The company was originally founded in 1952 with a mission of perfecting the brewing process and preserving coffee culture. While Ogawa still has only one location in Boston and has not yet announced plans for expansion, there are dozens of shops in Kyoto, Japan.
Caffe Bene
Caffe Bene first opened in South Korea in 2008 and has since grown to have more than 1600 locations worldwide, including one in Boston at 333 Massachusetts Ave. (near Symphony Hall). The chain sources its beans from Brazil, Bolivia, and Papua New Guinea, and it serves a full range of espresso beverages, from lattes to macchiatos and cappuccinos. Caffe Bene also offers waffles and honey breads with assorted toppings, frozen yogurt, sandwiches, tea, and a handful of blended beverages, including frappes and smoothies.
The Big Chains
Other notable out-of-towners include Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Starbucks, both larger chains with a strong national (and in the case of Starbucks, international) presence. Boston — again, a heavily Dunks-leaning portion of the country — has accepted the influx of Starbucks stores to some degree, but not without a fight.
Case in point: Last May, the South Boston neighborhood contested plans for Starbucks at 749 E Broadway. Members of the community expressed concern that the coffee chain would take business away from other local coffee shops, but the opposition did not gain enough traction to get in the way of the Seattle coffee giant. In August, the City of Boston approved the license for the new Southie Starbucks, which is now up and running.
A photo posted by Ogawa Coffee (@ogawacoffeeusa) on
Sep 14, 2015 at 6:01am PDT