If you’ve walked into the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building in the last month, you may have noticed a new smell: coffee.
Brio Coffee, which now has three locations on campus, opened up its newest site on Oct. 19 and has had a consistent line of people waiting for a warm cup of joe.
Casey McDonough, owner of Brio Coffee, said the decision to move to the building was made four years ago to target undergraduates. Because of leadership changes within the department, the cart sat in a storage room until it was finally approved.
Tori Cott, an employee and a junior in musical theater, said the building looked like it was ready to have a coffee shop.
“There were tables already here and people sitting in them but nothing to give them,” she said.
Some students, like Brandi Mills, a senior in biology, have switched from their normal coffee spot because of the biology location. Mills used to frequent Mom’s Café in the Marriott Library but now comes to Brio Coffee once or twice a week for her caffeine fix and the occasional snack.
“This is convenient because it’s a lot closer,” Milils said.
Mills said she prefers the small business atmosphere of Brio, something McDonough said makes the establishment unique on campus.
“We’re locally owned, locally managed and locally sourced,” he said. “We focus on the quality of our product and keeping our customers happy.”
When Brio opened its first location in the S.J. Quinney College of Law building in 2008, there was only one other coffee location, Two Creek Coffee House in the Frederick Albert Sutton Building. Now there are several spots, including a Brio Coffee at the College of Architecture and Planning.
However, McDonough said he believes there is still room for more. He has his eyes set on upper campus to serve the pharmacy and nursing departments. McDonough said he hopes to keep his focus on the product and not get distracted by shops.
“If you don’t keep coffee as your primary focus, you’re not a coffee shop,” he said. “People don’t come to you for coffee anymore.”
@carolyn_webber