New SEC cafe to replace Brown and Brew

Brown and Brew Coffee House will close at the end of the business day on Aug. 11 after more than 20 years of operation, according to Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos. The decision to close Brown and Brew was made when it became apparent that a new cafe will be included in the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), Klos explained.

“It made sense to locate a cafeteria inside the new building,” Klos said. “So once that decision was made, does it make sense to keep the Brown and Brew operating across the street? Not really.”

Klos said that the new location in the SEC will be called the Kindlevan Café and will serve a variety of items, including hot food for lunch, salads and coffee.

“We will still feature espresso-based drinks, tea … we will have the grab and go, the sushi, and the salads and the sandwiches, but we will also have the ability to have some hot food, breakfast sandwiches, possibly other breakfast items,” Klos said.

Klos said that the cafe will also have a limited selection of freshly made juices and smoothies. According to Klos, meal swipes will not be accepted initially at the new cafe because it will be unable to support the high volume of customers that a meal swipe location usually attracts.

“We just don’t think we will have the capacity,” she said. “That’s really the issue.”

The new cafe will be connected to the SEC’s large atrium, and customers of the cafe will be able to eat anywhere in the atrium or at a bar that will be connected to the cafe, Klos said.

According to Klos, no positions will be eliminated when Brown and Brew closes.

Future plans for the re-purposing of the Brown and Brew space are not yet finalized, though discussions are ongoing, according to Vice President of Operations Linda Snyder.

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences James Glaser said that he has not participated in any official conversations relating to the future use of the Brown and Brew space specifically, but he said conversations will likely occur soon.

Both Glaser and Klos said that on-campus spacial plans do not currently include the creation of an on-campus pub, though members of Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate have researched the viability of a pub, according to an April 7, 2016 Daily article.

“I am not aware of any decisions that have been made [regarding an on-campus pub] or even where that is in the process,” Klos said.

Brown and Brew is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and prices will be discounted until April 27, according to the Tufts dining website. Klos said that she was working at Tufts when Brown and Brew was first created, and she feels the loss of its closing.

“We can appreciate the sentimentality of a change, of a loss if you will, of what that represented, but I am confident that the university will find a good use for it,” she said.