Starting in January, students will have a new place to get coffee, study and hang out: the Brown Bookstore. Renovations will be completed in early January, according to Bookstore Director Manuel Cunard. A new cafe, to be managed by Blue State Coffee, will be the centerpiece of the revamped bookstore.
The new cafe "won't be officially called Blue State Coffee," said Alex Payson '03.5, co-owner and manager of Blue State. Instead, "it will be the College Hill Cafe, operated by Blue State Coffee."
Cunard said that calling the cafe "The Bookstore Cafe" was also a possibility.
Blue State Coffee, which currently has a store located three blocks north of the bookstore at 300 Thayer St., beat out several other vendors, including Au Bon Pain and Brown Dining Services, for the bookstore contract, according to Payson.
Blue State Coffee donates 10 percent of all sales to progressive causes and local charities, as voted on by customers. The store also sells "Bush's last day" counters and Obama-Biden bumper stickers.
Cunard recognized that "Blue State is a company that has a political agenda, but Blue State in the bookstore will not be driven by that."
"They have given us a philosophical commitment, and are really committed to sustainability and student activism," Cunard added.
Payson agreed. "The political aspect is definitely going to be toned down a bit," he said, adding that anti-Bush merchandise will not be included in the new cafe and that eco-friendly merchandise, such as sustainable shopping bags, will be emphasized.
The new cafe will have an expanded menu, which will include soups and sandwiches along with Blue State's signature coffee and breakfast offerings. Payson said that Blue State is "very much committed to buying locally," as well as offering organic goods and supporting sustainability. Blue State, which plans to open a store on Yale's campus soon, creates very little landfill trash, as it composts coffee grounds and serves food and drinks in containers that can also be composted. Additionally, "the store is powered entirely with local New England wind power," Payson said.
Cunard said that he hopes the new cafe "will not only be a cafe with food and beverages; it will be a new campus venue" for activities like acoustic music, art showings and poetry readings.
"Ideally, we'd like to find a Brown student organization to help run the events," Payson said. "We want to be very much a part of the community and have Brown students involved and the faculty involved."
Margaret Watson '11 said she's pleased about the change. "I used to live on Pembroke last year and went to Blue State all the time," said Margaret Watson '11. "I think it's great that they'll have a store closer to main campus."
Students will not be able to use meal credits or FlexPoints at the cafe. "We are in the process of working to include the Brown Card as an access option," said Cunard, which would allow students to use their declining balances at the cafe.
Payson said that the plans for the cafe allow it to "blend seamlessly" into the bookstore. The cafe will feature a six-foot bar with stools, seating for 28 and laptop outlets. "We wanted the cafe and the bookstore to be study-friendly, and more of a place where students will go to hang out," Payson said.
Cunard said he hopes the renovations and the addition of the cafe will "create a space that is more efficient and more responsive to the contemporary needs of students."
