By Eva Botkin-Kowacki, News Correspondent
Espresso Royale Caffe (ERC) closed for renovations Monday as it transitions to become a Pavement Coffeehouse. The Gainsborough Street shop, under the same ownership as Pavement Coffeehouse on Boylston Street, will re-open March 26, said Andrew Lopilato, director of operations for the shops.
Lopilato said the breakfast menu will remain the same, with the addition of new lunch sandwiches that will be served on bread from Cambridge-based company Iggy’s Bread. ERC and Pavement already have a relationship with Iggy’s, serving their seven-grain and Pain de Mie bread. The new menu will feature a full selection of bread from Iggy’s, to give contrast to the store’s bagel breakfast sandwiches, said Lopilato, adding customers will still be able to substitute bread for a bagel.
There will also be a pour-over coffee bar, which will offer customers choices from an assortment of coffees that are ground and made fresh right in front of them, similar to Thinking Cup on Tremont Street.
The three Espresso Royale locations in Boston were opened by Espresso Royale Caffe company, which is based in the Midwest, in 1991. The cafes have been independently owned for over nine years, and opened Pavement Coffeehouse at the Berklee College of Music in 2008.
“[Pavement was] an opportunity to start from scratch and to express what the company has evolved into,” Lopilato said.
He said the company has become “more coffee forward.” The name change also helped the company establish itself as independent from its original owner, Lopilato said.
“The food and coffee [at Pavement Coffeehouse] is delicious,” Berklee freshman Zoë Lustri said. “It’s always really packed.”
The other ERC locations, on Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue, are scheduled to be converted to Pavement Coffeehouse as well, Lopilato said. There are no official dates yet, but the goal is to remodel this summer.
The interior design of the café will be more inviting and comfortable, said Lopilato, and customers can expect new paint, lighting and furniture. Behind the counter, operations will be more “streamlined,” he said, rather than the old “disjointed” layout.
The renovations aim to make it easier for staff to move around and prepare orders more quickly. Lopilato also said the counters were on the high side, and is hoping lower counters will add to the accessibility for customers.
While one student is upset he won’t be able to get breakfast at ERC this weekend, he accepts the temporary close if it means his food could be made quicker.
“ERC is the only good bagel spot on campus, and I go there every weekend for my hangover cure, the Jackson Crook,” said Eli Waimberg, middler digital arts major. “I think [temporarily closing the store] will be worth it in the long run, even though I am going to take it very hard on Saturday morning. I only hope by making more space for the workers, it will make the preparation of my Jackson Crook quicker.”
