Boston University’s Pavement Coffeehouse reopened for business on Jan. 15 following its months-long closure for building integrity construction.
The reopening of the coffeehouse coincides with the beginning of BU’s second semester.
“I am really happy that Pavement is open again,” said Yasemin Yilmaz, a sophomore in the College of General Studies. “I’m definitely looking forward to going there, studying with my friends, getting good coffee and enjoying my time.”
Pavement’s extended closure resulted in both financial implications and strains on its staff, particularly during the winter holiday season, according to Pavement CEO Andy LoPilato. He said out of eight locations, BU has one of their busiest stores.
“It was definitely a challenge because we lost that revenue, so we’re very happy to be reopened,” said LoPilato.
Due to the closures, many employees faced possible job insecurity. To prevent this, many staff transferred to another Pavement location then rejoined the BU team as a part of the new opening, according to LoPilato.
“We’re very grateful we have these other stores and we were able to [transfer staff] so that people didn’t lose too many hours or their jobs because of one location closing,” LoPilato said. “If we only had the one shop, there would have been little that we could do, but put people on unemployment … that didn’t happen to anybody.”
The building went under construction to address issues with its structural integrity, and affected Pavement’s kitchen. Its neighboring restaurant, Nud Pob Thai Cuisine, was also affected by building construction but to a lesser extent. The restaurant reopened in December.
“The solution to fix the building was to put in some support [pillars],” LoPilato said. “One of them had to go squarely in our kitchen, which meant the layout of that kitchen had to change and so that pushed the timeline for us.”
Many students expressed their understanding of excitement on campus that the cafe reopened.
“I don’t come here very frequently … but I recognize that a lot of people were very distressed by it [Pavement’s closure],” said Jaimee Francis, a junior in the School of Law. “I think it’s just nice to have more options and spread people out on campus more.”
With the structural issues resolved, Pavement plans to stay open and running.
“We’re not expecting any kind of closure, at least related to this, in the near future,” LoPilato said. “We’re reopened and glad to be busy again.”
I’m so excited to be going to Pavement again!