Baristas on bicycles soon will be riding on the University of Utah’s campus, with the addition of various Brewbike locations preparing to open their doors to students in need of their next caffeine fix.

“Brewbike is a coffee company on a mission to empower the next generation of leaders through entrepreneurial experience,” said Brewbikes’s Vice President of Brand and Digital, David Silverman. “We do that by enabling college students to run their own real coffee business on campus from end to end.”

Brewbike is a chain of coffee shops, with a two-wheeled twist. They are called Brewbike in reference to their baristas that ride around campus on bicycles serving cold brew. 

According to Brewbike’s Market Manager for Utah, Hope Mayernike, they have three different ways they sell their products: bars, shops and bikes.

“We have three different models which we launch on campuses,” Mayernike said. “The bike is a cold brew tap system, the bar is a module set up that gets thrown on campuses in smaller locations and then the shop is a full-blown cafe with [an] espresso machine, a counter with pastries [and] food. It’s a full Brewbike cafe.”

Brewbike prides itself on being entirely student-run.

“There are campuses where students get to work at places and be the barista at a cafe or a shop, but we actually have students leading the entire process,” Silverman said. “They really do run a business, from brewing coffee to employing people to serve the coffee to marketing the coffee [and] learning what it means to manage a business.”

According to Silverman, Brewbike works to create a community formed by students and for students.

“I think that having students on both sides of the counter creates an experience in the community that lets student culture thrive,” Silverman said. “That’s truly the special part of it.”

They began with their first location at Northwestern University.

“Brewbike was founded in 2015 by a group of undergrads at Northwestern University, where I went to school,” Silverman said. “They realized as coffee got better on campus [and] as the quality got better, the lines got extremely long. There was no convenient way to get great coffee on campus.”

According to Silverman, this inspired the creators of Brewbike to mount their bicycles.

“So, they got a bicycle and started serving cold brew to their peers,” Silverman said. “It was a big success — people really loved the cold brew. The student-run concept really rang true and connected with students.”

Brewbike has grown since its beginnings at Northwestern University. It currently has locations at six campuses across the country, with plans to expand to five more, including the U’s campus.

“To be a student-empowering business coming to campus is amazing,” Mayernike said. “All the feedback I get from students I run into, or even higher-ups at the school — they’re super excited to have us, and I think that drives the excitement for us and the brand.”

According to Mayernike and Silverman, the A. Ray Olpin Union building, Kahlert Village and the upcoming College of Humanities’ Student Success Hub will be getting a Brewbike location, with a tentative launch of the first two locations to happen before winter break.

The University of Utah Brewbike locations currently have many job openings, looking to fill campus CEO, chief operating officer, front house manager and barista positions. According to their barista application, they are looking for individuals who are personable and bubbly and enjoy connecting with customers.

[email protected]

@oldroyd_devin