For UF electrical engineering alumnus Quinn Martin, starting a vegan coffee shop is a way to put his degree into practice.
“I think it’s pretty closely tied, because the way I approach coffee is very technical,” he said.
Martin, 23, is one of the business partners collaborating to jumpstart Radical Press Coffee Collective, which is set to open in March as one of Gainesville’s first vegan coffee shops.
It will take up space inside the Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St. The shop is currently raising money online, and as of press time, it had raised $891 toward its goal of $15,000 on its Indiegogo page.
The coffee shop will give customers a chance to tailor their drinks with alternative milks, Martin said, such as soy, rice, almond or flax.
The shop will also serve vegan baked goods.
“It’s kind of like customization,” he said. “It’s what makes every cup special.”
Martin, a self-professed “coffee geek,” said making coffee can be creative, but it also involves a technical process.
He said he’s been collecting and tweaking equipment, including French presses, to engineer specialty coffee for the shop.
Rusti Poulette, another coffee shop founder, said the center is already a meeting point for artists and activists to work on projects, and for friends to socialize and play board games.
The addition of the coffee shop and a lounge area, Poulette said, will help bring more people together.
“We’re hoping to be a social hub,” he said.
Kathy Whipple, store coordinator for the neighboring Citizens Co-op market, said the coffee shop will help showcase locally supplied fair-trade coffees — a label for consumers that indicate laborers were well-paid for their work.
“We’re really looking forward to having the coffee collective around, because they’re going to be offering some of the coffee we sell in the co-op,” she said. “It will give people a place to sit and have a cup of coffee, and then they’ll come over here and go grocery shopping.”
Gretchen Mcintyre, 30, left, and Katie Conly, 30, read at the Civic Media Center on Monday. The Radical Press Coffee Collective, an independent vegan coffee shop, is scheduled to open there in March, store owner Rusti Poulette said.
