US coffee chain Intelligentsia Coffee is to make its international debut this week, opening its first location in South Korea. 

The store, scheduled to open on February 23, is in collaboration with local distributor MH Partners, which has promoted the brand’s bagged coffee and RTD drink sales for 10 years.

The store will open in a renovated historic building in Seoul’s Seochon, joining the brand’s existing store portfolio in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Austin. It has a big glass canopy that hovers above the bar to highlight the baristas’ coffee and craft, as well as natural wood and stone accents that bring nature inside.

Intelligentsia Coffee, founded in 1995 by Doug Zell and Emily Mange, specialises in roasted coffee and has locations in five cities in the US. 

Last month, Moroccan coffee brand Bacha Coffee signed an exclusive franchise and distribution agreement with Lotte Department Store to establish its first foothold in South Korea.