Son of a bitch. I really liked Torrefazione.
Specialty-coffee giant Starbucks has decided to close its Torrefazione Italia cafes and focus on developing the upscale coffee brand through grocery and food-service deals, a company spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Umberto Bizzarri opened the first Torrefazione in Seattle's Pioneer Square in 1986 — the same year Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz started his own chain of Italian-style coffee bars, Il Giornale. Starbucks purchased Il Giornale two years later, and Schultz went on to build the specialty-coffee giant.
Torrefazione — which operates 17 stores in the Northwest, California, Chicago and Boston — aims to re-create the classic Italian coffee-bar experience, replete with espresso drinks served in ceramic cups.
crap
