Starbucks, Einsteins and Archivist Café, three beloved coffee options among University of Miami students, are now having to face their biggest competition on campus – Brewbike.
The student-run coffee cart has been serving cold brew to UM students at its original Merrick location since 2019, and now it’s expanding to a second cart at Lakeside Village on Wed, Feb. 23.
“After a very successful first semester of operations, we sought growth opportunities because we were limited in the amount of cold brew we could sell from a single Bike,” said Cory Levy, a senior finance and legal studies major who serves as Campus CEO of Brewbike at UM.
“We considered a few locations with the most foot traffic, and ultimately decided that Lakeside Village would be the perfect spot for us,” Levy continued.
The expansion was also made in conjunction with Brewbike HQ, the national Brewbike corporation, and Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services at UM to approve the new location.
In anticipation of the launch, the UM Brewbike leadership team held a tabling event on Feb. 17 at the Mahoney-Pearson and Hecht-Stanford dining halls.
Free coffee samples, cold brew packets and merchandise were given to students to boost Brewbike’s presence on campus and spread awareness of the upcoming second launch.
According to Levy, new promotions will also come to the Lakeside location, including a partnership with a familiar brand to sponsor free coffee for a day in the near future.
“When hearing of our endeavor, students showed a lot of praise and support,” said Ana Weed, a senior who serves as Chief People Officer of Brewbike at UM.
“They agreed that Lakeside is another point of contact where many students congregate and may potentially need a nice cold brew,” Weed continued.
Notably, the new Lakeside Bike is not Brewbike’s first attempt at expanding at the university. Early in 2020, the student-run cold brew business opened a second location at the Cox science building, but was shut down a week into its debut due to COVID-19.
Alternatively, the UM Brewbike team served and delivered its signature cold brew to the Miami Marlins as a smooth transition into the Fall 2021 semester, according to Weed.
Having successfully managed their business last semester, Brewbike is hoping to capitalize on its success by continuing with its original endeavor to add a second location on the Coral Gables campus.
“I really think it’s a great spot, especially for students who leave from Lakeside or walk from Hecht-Stanford to get to their classes in the morning,” said Matt Langdon, a freshman exercise physiology major who works as a barista at both the Merrick and Lakeside locations.
According to Langdon, the Lakeside Bike will also be open a half-hour earlier than the Merrick location at 8:30 a.m., which may be able to accommodate students with earlier class times.
Along with the expansion in location comes the expansion in the team’s size, with around 20 people now onboard to Brewbike at UM to smoothly operate the two locations.
From new baristas like Langdon to more leadership positions being filled, Brewbike continues to fulfill its “by students, for students” mantra on-campus.
“As a graduating senior, I can confidently say that working for Brewbike has been a highlight of my college experience,” Levy said.
“The dedicated team of students I have had the pleasure of collaborating with and leading, as well as our loyal customers, make all the hard work worthwhile,” Levy continued. “I feel honored to have been part of this expansion process and cannot wait to continue to fuel our campus.”