The romance of Café Intermezzo, Atlanta’s favorite European coffeehouse

If you’ve ever strolled through Midtown on Peachtree Street (the one that runs northeast — there are quite a few Peachtree Streets in Atlanta, to say the least), you’ve most likely noticed the chocolate-colored coffeehouse that sits across from the Federal Reserve Headquarters. Especially during warmer months, you’ll find customers packed tightly underneath its shaded patio area enjoying a mixed berry crepe or sipping an espresso martini. There are stunning Corinthian-style columns on each side of its front door, and gold letters that read “Café Intermezzo” that sit above. Its atmosphere is elegant yet comfortable, alleviating any pressure of feeling underdressed as you order a slice of cheesecake from the barista bar. You can’t miss it.

Brian Olson, the founder and president of Café Intermezzo, was inspired by the European coffeehouses that he visited in his twenties and has successfully replicated their allure across three locations right here in Georgia. And Olson still beams about his dream business as if he just opened it yesterday.

A Café Intermezzo barista whips up a few espresso beverages for the guests. Photo courtesy of Harry Middleton.

But Café Intermezzo’s story begins in 1971. “My mom grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota with a German-speaking family, and I was always longing to visit Europe, especially Germany,” Olson says. “My cousin married a girl in Berlin, so I decided to seize the opportunity to finally go to Europe.”

While he was there, Olson visited a traditional European coffeehouse — known in the German language as a Konditorei. “I was just touched by the elegance of these places,” he says. “And when I traveled to Austria shortly afterward, I saw the same style of coffeehouses in Vienna, and I just thought, man, this is fabulous.”

“So, it planted a seed in my brain,” Olson continues. “I was twenty-three years old at the time, and I really wanted to someday open my own coffeehouse. I didn’t know how to do it. I didn’t have any restaurant experience … and I didn’t have any money to speak of.”

The following year, in 1972, Olson started working in a restaurant in Minneapolis to learn the ropes of restaurant management. “We had these big brass cappuccino machines … and I wasn’t a real coffee fanatic or anything,” he says. “I didn’t know much about espresso.” 

“But the machine broke, and I fixed it … and then along the way, I started selling these espresso cappuccino machines,” Olson continues. “Which — by the grace of God — just sort of tied into where I was headed with that part of my career at the time.”

When asked how the name “Café Intermezzo” came to be, Olson says that its roots stem from his love of classical music. “I was just really fascinated by the opera and classical music … and ‘intermezzo’ was a word created in Italian — hundreds of years ago — to mean ‘intermission’ for the opera.”

“And ‘café’ means ‘coffee’ or ‘coffee shop,’” he continues. “And it just stuck with me. ‘Coffee Intermission.’ Café Intermezzo.”

Olson was putting that name and other loose ends together for his European coffeehouse in 1977, which is the same year that he moved from Minneapolis to Atlanta. “And then, in 1979, I found a location in Dunwoody — this beautiful shopping center that was under construction called Park Place — and ended up signing a lease there and scraping together money to open the first Café Intermezzo,” Olson says.

That was on December 3, 1979, meaning that Café Intermezzo’s forty-third anniversary is approaching this winter. But the rest is history.

A customer takes a peek at Café Intermezzo’s famous pastry display. Photo courtesy of Harry Middleton.

When asked what customers can expect when they walk into Café Intermezzo for the first time, Olson says that people come together at Café Intermezzo for the experience. “We’re not just food and beverage … what we are is experiential,” he says. “When people walk in for the first time, I hope that they feel welcome. But more importantly, I want them to feel like they’re stepping into another time and another place. That they’re stepping into Europe in the 1900s. That they feel warm and comfortable when they walk in.”

Olson says that recreating that captivating experience that he felt in Europe in 1971 was important to him when he opened Café Intermezzo. “When I walked into that first Konditorei in Berlin, the first thing I noticed was the elegance of the place,” he says. “And at the same time, these beautiful pastry displays with gorgeous cakes in them.”

“And that’s the focal point of my café,” he continues. “As you walk in and see the barista bar with the pastry display and the world’s largest espresso machine, it sort of tells a story of what it is we’re all about.”

Although delicious coffee, cocktails and cakes are the main staples on Café Intermezzo’s menu, it includes some tasty savory dishes as well. “The avocado toast is a great menu item, but the most popular entrée on our menu is the spicy tortellini, which a recipe that my wife developed,” says Olson.

But when it comes to suggesting just one menu item that everyone should try, Olson makes it clear that you can’t go wrong with dessert. “Oreo cheesecake,” he says without hesitation. “You have to try the Oreo cheesecake.”

A close-up look at some of the delicious pastries of Café Intermezzo. Photo courtesy of Harry Middleton.

Sweet treats are just icing on the cake — no pun intended — of all that Café Intermezzo has to offer. The antique European décor, the rose-colored walls, the walnut woodwork and the dimmed lighting are all crucial elements of the romantic feel of Café Intermezzo.

But Olson quickly figured out that the women of Atlanta were especially drawn to the seductive ambiance of his café. “I was learning this because of the movie theater that used to be across the street from us in the corner of Perimeter Mall’s parking lot,” he says. “People would go on dates [to the theater], and then the women would want to come to Café Intermezzo afterwards.”

In fact, Olson says that a customer at the Dunwoody location recently told him that she had her first date at that very same Café Intermezzo in 1980. And another couple recently had their wedding ceremony at the Midtown location — complete with just two tables, an officiant, and a bottle of champagne. 

However, the greatest love story to come out of Café Intermezzo is Olson’s own. “I opened our Brookwood location in December of 1987, and exactly four months later, these two beautiful women came in,” he says. “One of them went over to talk to another table, and the other one — I was immediately smitten by her. So, I ran over and introduced myself, and now she’s my wife.” Olson’s wife, Page, is currently the co-owner of Café Intermezzo — specializing in guest relations, special requests, pastry management and community outreach.

And although the Brookwood location has since closed its doors and relocated to Midtown, the café in Brookwood still holds a special place in the hearts of the Olson family. Seven years ago, on the night that Brookwood closed its doors, Olson and his family paid homage to the café, despite the countless guests that were also pouring in to say goodbye. “My wife and my three kids came in, and we sat at the same table of which I met her, which was very symbolic for us as a family,” he says.

Brian Olson (left) pictured with an arm around his wife, Page Middleton Olson (right). Photo courtesy of Harry Middleton.

“It’s been wonderful hearing about all of these love stories at my cafés over the years,” Olson continues. “And I really credit it all to the fact that, according to my informal counts over the years, 73% of our guests are female. That’s part of the key to survival, I think. If women like it, you’re off to a good start.”

Aside from the preeminent female seal of approval, Olson has learned many other keys to success after nearly fifty years of experience in the restaurant industry. “One of the things that I learned before I opened the café, was what not to do,” he says. “I learned that you don’t have to listen to everybody. Develop and design your concept — and stick with it — despite what your friends and relatives might say.”

“I had learned all that I could about restaurant management before opening Café Intermezzo,” Olson continues. “But when you own your own business of any kind — specifically the restaurant business — there’s a lot that’s different once you actually open. Such as sleepless nights, and … well, for the first five years, I didn’t pay myself.”

While adjusting to those first few years of owning and operating the café, Olson learned the ropes of staffing and cash management, ultimately putting all his prior knowledge into practice. “We were lucky to survive because about 94% of all independent restaurants in the United States fail within the first three years,” he added.

Various couples in the Atlanta area enjoying the romantic ambiance of Café Intermezzo. Photo courtesy of Harry Middleton.

But what’s even more impressive is how Café Intermezzo overcame the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. “The pandemic was sobering,” Olson says. “We closed all our locations right as it hit in mid-March, and then, starting in May 2020, we slowly reopened.”

Within three days of closing, Olson and his team brought all the food from the three Atlanta cafés to the Midtown location, where they held a food giveaway. “To anyone that had anything to do with frontline workers or the hospitality industry, we gave them a box of food,” Olson says.

And then they did it again. After partnering with US Foods, Café Intermezzo fed over one thousand Atlanta residents at the beginning of the pandemic, thanks to two giant semi-trucks and over 55,000 pounds of food. “We had people lined up by the hundreds,” Olson says. “It was so rewarding. But we’ve been very fortunate, very lucky, and very blessed that we had a pretty quick recovery.”

Olson claims that the pandemic taught him so much more than he’d ever known about restaurant management. And despite cutting their hours and their seating after reopening post-pandemic, Café Intermezzo is still serving just as many guests as it used to. 

“We learned that we can get by with fewer tables and chairs, we can get by with going cashless, and in doing so, we can encourage our staff to deliver our guests a better experience,” Olson says. “They can be better servers and hospitality professionals instead of running around like order takers.” 

But the most important thing that has stuck with Olson throughout over forty years of operating Café Intermezzo is the significance of hospitality itself. “It seems sort of obvious to our industry — the hospitality industry — but I’ve learned to try and teach our staff that food and beverage is not what we’re all about,” he says. “We’re about the experience … but more importantly, it’s about making our guests happy.”

“Pay attention to the guests. Be nice to them and smile. You don’t have to have the best cocktail or coffee in the world,” Olson says. “But if you’re friendly, it will overcome everything.”

If that slice of Oreo cheesecake is calling your name, be sure to visit your nearest Café Intermezzo location in Midtown, Dunwoody, or Alpharetta if you’re Atlanta-based. Brian Olson and his team would be delighted to serve you.