Campus favorite Nitro Cart brewers will open their first brick and mortar cafe this winter at 288 Broadway in a space shared with DASH Bicycle Shop. With construction for The Nitro Bar already underway in the existing bike shop, both vendors are excited to collaborate.
鈥淚t has always been a pipe dream of mine to open up a space for a community of people, especially something around craft coffee that鈥檚 locally sourced and sustainable,鈥� said Audrey Finocchiaro, one of The Nitro Cart鈥檚 two owners.
Serendipitously, DASH owner Leo LaBelle was looking to bring in a hip coffee retailer to fulfill his longtime goal of creating a combined coffee bar and bike shop 鈥� a concept he has seen in a few cities across the country, he said. With its loyal clientele, strong brand, established Instagram following and young employees (all under the age of 25), The Nitro Cart fit the bill.
鈥淭he Nitro guys are onto a wave that we wouldn鈥檛 be able to keep up with,鈥� LaBelle said. As a self-professed 鈥渙ld fart鈥� at the age of 45, LaBelle expects that The Nitro Cart brand will prove a 鈥済ood complement鈥� to his existing store, he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 a big fan of their brand,鈥� said Sean Manning 鈥�18.5, a loyal drinker of the nitro brew. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool seeing young people start a business like this.鈥�
The plan is to open The Nitro Bar in December, said Andrew Tower, the architect and interior designer working on the project. He envisions the bike service counter and the coffee bar in 鈥渁 continuous line through the room,鈥� with the mechanic and barista working side-by-side separated by a pane of glass, he added.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to make anything too pretty or too fancy,鈥� Tower said, adding that he wants to maintain the cool simplicity the coffee brand has maintained since its launch last September.
The Nitro Cart started with just one cart in downtown Providence, Finocchiaro said. They soon added a second cart and brought both traveling coffee stations to campus, setting up shop on Waterman and George streets.
鈥淲e really connect with the Brown students,鈥� Finocchiaro said. 鈥淲e feel very similar to you guys.鈥�
Business was good, and the company even installed nitro taps in some local restaurants, but the actual carts had to close for the winter. So when Labelle approached the cart owners this fall and asked if they would be interested in moving into part of his store to set up a nitro coffee bar, it posed a good business opportunity for the fledgling vendors, Finocchiaro said.
鈥淗is clientele is similar to ours, which I think will work out well,鈥� Finocchiaro said, adding that she would describe their shared customer base as 鈥渕illennials鈥� 鈥� even though she hates the word. And Rhode Island local Finocchiaro had always liked DASH鈥檚 neighborhood 鈥� the west side of Providence 鈥� because it reminds her of Brooklyn, she said.
The coffee brewers鈥� 500-square-foot area within the bike shop 鈥渨ill be set up like a bar, with taps鈥� of nitrogen-infused iced coffee, said Cole Criollos, a Nitro Cart employee.
Criollos mans The Nitro Cart on Waterman Street, but 鈥減robably won鈥檛 be out much longer鈥� as the weather gets colder, he said. Now, with an indoor coffee bar at DASH, The Nitro Cart fans will have a home base all winter long.
鈥淲e have this really awesome community of people we鈥檝e built around The Nitro Cart, and we鈥檙e excited to hang out together,鈥� Finocchiaro said.
LaBelle hopes The Nitro Bar will not only get people in the store, but also encourage them to spend time there, offering an opportunity for cyclists to bond in a relaxed atmosphere, he said. The 鈥渟ocial aspect鈥� of coffee has the power to bring people together, he said. 鈥淭he whole point of cycling is to get more people into cycling. If we sit down and have a coffee together, 鈥� that coffee just brought us closer.鈥�
LaBelle estimates that currently, 80 to 90 percent of the store鈥檚 customers 鈥渨ill drop their bike off and go down the street to Seven Stars Bakery,鈥� he said, adding that the in-house Nitro Bar will give these customers a more convenient option to grab a coffee as well as connect with fellow bikers.
Seven Stars Bakery, just four blocks west of DASH, is not too concerned about losing business to The Nitro Bar. 鈥淲e鈥檙e more so in competition with bakeries as opposed to coffee shops,鈥� said Peyton Helgeson, a Seven Stars employee. 鈥淲e have pretty good business,鈥� she said.
The Nitro Bar also doesn鈥檛 aim to take away business from any fellow cafes . 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really think of people as competition because we鈥檙e doing our own thing and have this awesome community of supporters,鈥� Finocchiaro said. 鈥淲e feel positively toward other coffee shops.鈥�
In addition to their signature nitro brew, The Nitro Bar will also introduce new nitro flavors and serve craft espresso drinks. They plan to sell around 10 varieties of Colombian pastries from Caprichos Antioque帽os Bakery in Pawtucket, Finocchiaro said, adding that the authentic empanadas are one of her favorites. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檝e ever tried something so good. It鈥檚 out of this world.鈥�
