New coffee bar dares to be different

Photo by Anna Meassick | BRU RI offers delicious coffee, doughnuts, and a quiet space for students to study.

The newly opened Bru RI Coffee Bar located on Fortin Road offers a bar-like atmosphere with a coffee-shop-style menu for University of Rhode Island students and community members to enjoy.

Bru RI, also known as Bru, is just past the Emporium next to the North Village Condominiums. It celebrated its soft opening on Saturday, Nov. 2 and has been up and running ever since. The coffee bar offers a nitro tap system for all coffee flavors, gourmet craft donuts and a fresh menu.

The owner, Jason August, has had the idea for such a coffee bar for many years but started construction on the property just a few months ago. Originally, the coffee bar was set to be opened on the Florida coastline at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. August, more familiar with the Rhode Island area, decided to change his plans and set up shop just outside of the URI boundaries.

August said that they wanted to create a spot for people to go for fun. “To the people that live here, you have six to seven thousand on campus, and they really have nowhere to go,” said August. “So I wanted to kind of fill that void. We will offer trivia nights, bingo. I’ve already had a few students come up to me and they’ve wanted to do events.”

While August is the owner and proprietor of the business, he hired manager Jimy Saggs to aid in operations. Saggs is in charge of scheduling, maintaining the staff, ordering products and more. Prior to his experience at Bru, he was at Java Madness in Wakefield for nearly 15 years.

“I wanted to be a part of something new, something different,” Saggs said. “I wanted to take on something that would be kind of like a new challenge. I thought this was going to be it– It is it.”

Both August and Saggs are adamant that their small business will not be lost to larger corporations such as the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts.

“So as far as competition is concerned I think the ideas that I have and that we have and that we’ve come up with are going to be something that nobody offers,” August said. “I think the atmosphere alone and the menu is just totally different than was the others have to offer. As far as competition, again, people that are gonna go to Dunkin’ are gonna go there.”

The Emporium and other nearby businesses are notorious for having unsustainable nor long-lasting reputations. Neither August nor Saggs were alarmed by the lack of longevity of surrounding businesses.

“A lot of places fall short with that consistency where they start off good and then they break down and let things slide and let things go,” Saggs said. “I’m going to be running a tighter ship. I want my employees to be on top of things. If you can commit to that consistency, people know that you’re going to get the same thing every time with no slippage, that’s how you’re going to survive.”

August is content with the flexibility that comes with owning a small, new business and believes this will help Bru combat the previous reputations.

“I can change and adapt and adjust where we need to be,” August said. “The market’s always changing and I believe that we’ll always be right there or ahead of what people want. I’m willing to adjust whereas you see with the businesses that have been here, sometimes you get stuck in your own ways, and that can hinder your growth. Be able to adjust and willing to adjust.”

The biggest way Bru has been able to drum up business has been through the usage of social media, Instagram in specific. Because Bru isn’t easily visible, August increased the business’s presence on social media to compensate. August stated that about 90 percent of customers have come to Bru as a result of views on Instagram.

Freshman Mike Miscia enjoyed his first time at Bru and spoke very highly about the experience. “I thought it was really cool. You go in there, it’s a cool atmosphere, it’s a really nice, open layout,” said Miscia. “They have a bunch of flavored coffees in the back and then you also see this giant tray of different donuts which I’ve never heard of. They have grilled cheese donut.”

Saggs believes that Bru RI’s unique menu and welcoming environment will get them places, and they have no fears for the future.

“If things turn out the way we want them to, and we’re projecting well, we’ll definitely be expanding,” Saggs said. “Like I said, we’re not trying to be Dunkin Donuts, though. We’re going to expand slowly and small.”