Customers Want Their Coffee: Local Shops Never Stopped Brewing
By MELANIE THIBEAULT, Valley Breeze
Alicia DeCastro, who opened her coffee shop Fundati in Lincoln last fall during the pandemic, said she’s also seen an uptick in customers this year.
“We have some regulars who have been coming from day one. We love and appreciate them,” she said. “Every week we have new faces coming in.”
DeCastro said she thinks opening a coffee shop during the pandemic instead of a sit-down restaurant definitely helped since many customers take their orders with them on the road.
“We started with no tables,” she said. “Now anything is better than nothing.”
The shop won the Judge’s Choice award during R.I. Food Fights’ iced coffee challenge in July, and DeCastro said the business also launched breakfast sandwiches and new food items this summer. She’s also added a new retail section featuring clothes and coffee beans.
She said she’s learned a lot this past year and has had a really great team to help her.
Customers have been requesting that the shop stay open a little later than its current 3 p.m. close time. “It’s nice to feel wanted,” she said, adding that she may test out longer hours and see how it goes.
DeCastro has also been experiencing a coffee cup shortage, saying the particular cups she wants have been backordered for two months. “We almost ran out of branded cups and iced coffee cups,” she said. “I was running around for a couple of days trying to get cups. … There hasn’t been a great way to be on top of that.”
She said she’s grateful to local supply stores who have been really great and have provided her with unbranded cups. “It works,” she said.
Going forward, she said, she’s hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
“I just try to stay calm and keep a positive outlook,” she said.
