BY SARAH GOETZE
Staff Writer
You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy coffee, and that is pretty much the same thing, right? If you believe so, follow the red brick road, down to the newest coffee shop the historic town of Lebanon has to offer.
Located at 218 W St. Louis St., and nestled by its sister business, Brickstreet Arts, a local coffee shop named Brickstreet Brew opened its doors in August and has since been proudly serving coffee, espresso, tea, wine, beer, specialty cocktails and sweets. This quaint coffee shop offers inside seating as well as additional seating in the large, open-air courtyard in the back. Brickstreet Brew also offers Wi-Fi, making it the perfect setting to hang out and catch up on social media or cram for an upcoming test, all while sipping a delicious cup of coffee.
As if the idea of a relaxing cup of coffee to start out your morning isn’t enough to convice you to head that way, knowing that Brickstreet Brew offers many discounts and deals will be.
Starting out as a member of McKendree Monday, Brickstreet Brew decided to cater to McKendree students and faculty even more by offering a 5% discount with a valid ID every day of the week. Also, for anybody looking for a chance to show off their Halloween costume, they are offering a 10% discount to anyone who shows up in a costume on Oct. 31.
The friendly and helpful baristas make Brickstreet Brew a welcoming place. McKendree freshman, Jonathan Adams, is currently employed at Brickstreet Brew. Adams said his favorite part about working at the coffee shop is meeting new people.
“I love the connection with the customers that come in; everyone is friendly and nice,” Adams explained. “My favorite, though, is when a regular customer comes in, and you can talk to them and already know what they are going to order.” Laughing, he added, “It’s a shock when I’m prepared to make their usual drink, and they switch it up on you.”
When asked what his favorite drink is, he admitted he couldn’t pick just one. “I don’t have a personal favorite because everything is really good.” Adams said that whenever a customer comes in and orders something he has never tried, he makes it a point to try it. “My co-workers and I like to experiment in the back and throw spices and random flavors together to see what tastes good and what doesn’t.”
The students and faculty of McKendree have nothing but compliments for the local business. Professor Stephanie Quinn is a regular customer of Brickstreet Brew.
“I love it,” she says. “The coffee is strong and delicious, just the way I like it. The muffins are dreamy as well.” Her go-to order is a vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin, but she highly recommends the pumpkin muffin as well.
She loves the charm of the shop and how it is decorated with mugs and plates that are for sale. “Also, you can commission them to make you a mug. The hand decorated mugs they have on display are stunning,” Quinn said. Brickstreet Brew offers a complimentary cup of coffee whenever you purchase a mug.
When asked if the McKendree discount was something that drew her towards the shop, Quinn had no idea about it. “If that just goes to show you how good it is, I didn’t even know there was a discount. The prices are so affordable without it.”
If you haven’t yet, make it a point to stop by and try a delicious treat or a cup of coffee. In order to keep up with Brickstreet Brew’s upcoming events and deals, like them on Facebook!
