Report: Chicago-Based Intelligentsia Coffee Chain Is For Sale

Chicago's very own Intelligentsia Coffee is reportedly up for sale, and the price for the hip chain could top out to $100 million, according to a Dow Jones & Co. report. Intelligentsia, founded in 1995 with the opening of its recently-renovated Lakeview shop, has rapidly expanded its coffee bar and retail business both across Chicago and the country.

Several private-equity firms have already lined up to inquire, according to Dow Jones. There are six Intelligentsia coffee bars in Chicago (Lakeview, Logan Square, The Loop, Millennium Park, Old Town and Wicker Park). Those locations join a New York spot and three in the Los Angeles area. The coffee bars are trendy spots, featuring a variety of drinks from Africa and South America.

An email to Intelligentsia for comment went unreturned, so it remains to be seen how any sale would affect how the bars are operated.