Intelligentsia Faces $15M Lawsuit From Ex-CEO

The former executive claims he's owed a cut from the company's recent sale to Peet's Coffee & Tea.

Less than a month after it was bought up by Peet's Coffee & Tea, Intelligentsia Coffee has been slapped with a lawsuit by former co-CEO Robert Buono. Buono claims he's owed a share of the profits from the sale — $15 million, to be precise — reports the Chicago Tribune.

Buono served as co-CEO of the independent coffee company from 2010 to 2014, and the lawsuit claims he took a company in disarray and turned it around to the tune of a 61 percent profit increase. Buono alleges Intelligentsia owners Doug Zell and Emily Mange couldn't afford to pay him, and instead promised him a 15 percent cut of future profits. While terms of the sale to Peet's have not been disclosed, it's been reported the deal is worth $100 million.

Buono claims the "current wrongful conduct" stems from some of his decisions that helped the company but "were unpopular with Doug and Emily." At the time of the sale, Zell and Mange announced they would "retain a significant stake in the business and stay actively involved in the company's operations."

Intelligentsia has not yet returned an Eater request for comment. The news of its sale came on the heels of Peet's announcing its purchase of another beloved independent outlet, Stumptown Coffee Roasters. The two moves have the coffee world abuzz wondering what the future holds for the third-wave movement.

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