On March 18, the lobby of the Jonathan Nelson ’77 Fitness Center became the newest location of L’Artisan Cafe and Bakery.
The European-style cafe offers a wide range of food options, including an espresso bar, sandwiches, salads and protein shakes. It will not accept meal swipes or flex points as payment.
Ghassan Daou, the owner of L’Artisan, stressed the cafe’s “focus on healthy foods.” He hopes that their offerings, especially protein shakes and smoothies, will appeal to the demographic of gym-goers and athletes at the Nelson.
“Nothing is really fried. It is all freshly made with fresh ingredients of quality,” he added.
L’Artisan can also be found at Wayland Square, Point Street and T.F. Green Airport. The new location in the Nelson is the cafe’s smallest and newest addition. Daou described the location as “a simplified operation relatively speaking to our main business on Wayland Square.”
The Nelson location has a limited menu compared to its counterparts, Daou said. There is no kitchen in the fitness center, but the food is delivered daily from the “convenient” central location in Wayland Square, ensuring the cafe’s “good quality and good service,” Daou said.
Daou chose to expand onto Brown’s campus because “there is a need in this area for such a product and service,” he said.
The new location is designed to be “easy in, easy out” to cater to students who stop by on their way through the Nelson. The cafe will “alter and change (their) menu to reflect the needs” of their consumers, Daou said.
Samantha Anthony, a barista at the new location, said that so far, “the protein shakes are a great hit,” a trend she attributed to the cafe’s proximity to athletic facilities. The lattes and cappuccinos have also been popular, she added.
Gym-goer Faith Aylesworth ’28 said she found it “funny that they have pastries out right after people get finished with their workouts.” Even so, Aylesworth thought the new cafe was “pretty great.”
Despite saying that the cafe has seen “a lot of customers so far,” Anthony explained that the location is “hoping to gain a little bit more popularity” among students.
Daou said he would “like to have a participation from students from campus to come and join (L’Artisan) and be part of the staff.” Three student employees have already been hired.
Contrary to Daou’s desires, students will not be able to pay at L’artisan with meal swipes or flex points. “I wish we could take meal swipes but Brown opposes that idea,” Daou said. They will accept other standard forms of payment, like cash, credit cards and debit cards.
Aylesworth found it “disappointing that they do not take flex points.”
Summer Nickerson ’28 agreed, saying that the lack of payment options may deter her from spending money at the cafe.
The University did not respond to a request for comment.
The new location will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. To promote the new location, Daou will be offering a free coffee to anyone who walks into the cafe from March 31 to April 4, “no strings attached.”
