Something's brewin' up

Starbucks may have some competition, because there’s a new coffee shop in town. Caffeini’s Coffee is the latest addition in what many hope will be  the start of attracting outside businesses to the UT community.

The coffee shop, located on Secor Road across from Rocket Hall, celebrated it’s grand opening on Feb. 1 and hopes its unique menu and atmosphere will set it apart from other local coffee shops and fast food restaurants in the area.

With an earth-tone interior, highlighted by splashes of color, Ron Waxell, part-owner of the shop, described Caffeini’s as having a traditional, ‘retro vibe’ that is warm and inviting. 

“We gave it a traditional look because we wanted a feeling where you just don’t come in and grab your coffee and go,” he said. “This is a place where people can come in and relax.”

Caffeini’s is owned by Campus Village Apartments and is the first of what owners hope will be many coffee houses, Waxell said. Ideally, the shop owners would like to duplicate the shop at all of their Campus Village Apartments, however Waxell said he and his business partners are waiting to see how successful the Toledo shop is before more open.

The shop serves everything from paninis, bagels and soups to smoothies, coffee and espresso. According to Waxell, the smoothies are made from all-natural ingredients and are dairy free. Many of the shop’s products are also gluten-free and organic. Some of the shop’s more unique menu items include its chai tea and all-natural Italian gelato, made with ingredients imported from Italy.

Waxell estimated that almost 50 percent of the shop’s menu consists of locally purchased or grown food. Some of the coffee is grown in Michigan and all of the milk is purchased from local markets and retailers.

Waxell said he hopes the menu will encourage UT students to consider outside dining as opposed to limiting their diets to university food only. 

“Obviously we’re here because of UT,” Waxell said. “But the quality of our product lends itself to be more for people who are a little more sophisticated in taste, and hopefully, we can get some of the UT students to realize they have a choice [when it comes to food].”

With so much attention placed on the food, Waxell warned customers not to come to Caffeini’s in a hurry. Nearly all of the food is made-to-order by the shop’s employees, or “baristas” as they are referred to and is meant to enjoyed, Waxell said. 

“This is a destination where someone doesn’t come in and grab something and run,” Waxell said. “This is not fast food, and hopefully, people are not going to treat it like fast food.”

When planning the menu and pricing the items, Waxell said he and his partners made it a point to consider college students’ limited budgets.

“We felt that in order to make an impact, we had to price our items reasonably,” Waxell said. 

Items on the menu are moderately priced, with the most expensive item being the “hot panini’s” which are $5.95. A 20 ounce smoothie is about $5, and coffee and lattes cost anywhere between $1.60 and $4.25. Currently Caffeini’s does not accept Rocketcards. Waxell said they hope to in the future, and are waiting on the university to provide the necessary machines.

In the weeks and months to come, Waxell said the shop will have open mic nights and poetry readings during the week and on weekends. Shop managers are also in talks with the UT art department to display student artwork. 

While business isn’t booming just yet, Waxell is confident that Caffeini’s will become a fixture of the UT and Campus Village communities. He estimated that 80 percent of the shop’s business will come from UT students and faculty.

“My goal is to have somebody graduate from UT and, ten years later, be with some friends and say ‘wow you remember when we used to go to Caffeini’s?’” he said. “We want this to be one of the things that become embedded in people’s minds.”

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