Open Eye Cafe Supports Black Lives Matter

Open Eye Cafe, as a business that is fully interconnected in our communities, is committed to doing our part to dismantle systemic racism and address the power dynamics that are unfair to Black people and all disenfranchised communities.

While words can be a supportive first step, they can also be a hollow gesture, especially on social media, if there is no follow through. So we have taken the time first to listen. We are currently working with our staff to solidify thoughts, and potential actions so that we can create a strategic plan for change, that we can implement going forward long term.

These steps will include continued support and implementation of our company-wide diversity and inclusion training, with speakers that can be a platform to amplify the voices of Black professionals in order to have overdue conversations that will be instrumental in moving us forward as a company, an industry, & ultimately as a people united.

Also included in these first steps as we continue to build our donation platform for the future, we will be diversifying our donor list to both raise awareness for these organizations, as well as supporting financially to make actionable results possible.

To start, proceeds from all retail coffee bags from Monday, June 22 through Sunday July 5th, will be donated to the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham on behalf of all Cafe employees, who determined this to be a good local place to start supporting.

NC Community Bail Funds is an organization that lobbies for bail reform and supports individuals through the criminal justice system returning clients to their homes, jobs, and communities, in turn giving them a more equitable case procedure.

Find out more about the important work they are doing here: https://www.nccbailfund.org/

#CarolinaChamber #NCCommunityBailFund #BlackLivesMatter #DirectRelationshipCoffee #CarboroCoffee

Reintroducing the Cold Brew Ice Cream Float!

Its time to bring back our cold brew ice cream float!

Made with Carrboro Coffee Roasters‘ Ethiopia Ardi cold brew and  creamy vanilla ice cream, then topped with NITROBrew for that sparkling mouthfeel – it is a delightful & refreshing warm weather treat!

Order in-person, online or on our Toast Takeout App.

Pastries Are Back!

We’re excited to announce the return of pastries! We’ll be offering some of your favorite & most requested treats from Ninth Street Bakery including butter & chocolate croissants, scones, danishes, and muffins. Deliveries will arrive fresh every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning (no pre-ordering necessary). If the response is positive, we will continue expanding our offerings into other days of the week. ????☕️???? Order in-person (face coverings required to come inside), or online HERE for take-out or curbside delivery!

Sunday Bagels & Coffee!

Our Sundays have just gotten better with Deli Edison bagels and Carrboro Coffee Roasters’ coffee – a perfect combination! Place your orders by Wednesday at 4pm for the following Sunday. Order by the 1/2 dozen – options include plain, sesame, and everything with plain, herb-garlic, or bacon-scallion cream cheese! Taking pre-orders HERE!

Now taking Bagel Pre-Orders for Sunday, May 24th!


Requests for bagels has been positive, so we are continuing to work with our bagel partner, Deli Edison, and the next bagel pre-order, by the half dozen for pickup from the cafe, is for Sunday, May 24th! Please place your pre-orders online HERE by this Wednesday, May 20th at 4pm.

We’ll have your bagels and cream cheese ready for pickup on Sunday anytime after Noon. Thanks so much for your support in this program and all the other orders we are getting!. Looking forward to keep on sharing delicious bagels with you!

Open Eye Cafe Adds Online Ordering to their Curb-Side Pickup & Take-Away Program

We are now taking online orders to make it easier for you to grab your drinks, or whole bean coffee, easily & safely, without having to checkout inside, and  keeping spatial distance.

Check out our current offerings below to review the menu, OR  just click on this LINK to scroll through the menu and place your order, prepay, and then get all the goodness with an easy pickup, or we can walk it out to the front and you never have to leave your car!

Remember you can also get your coffee, gift cards and brewing equipment delivered right to your door too, and practice the ultimate in social distancing through this website – http://www.shopcarrborocoffee.com

How to Help Farmers, Our Employees, and Our Business

As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, Open Eye Cafe has seen reduced hours with carry-out and curbside delivery only. Our sister cafe, Caffe Driade has temporarily suspended service, & one third of our staff have been furloughed and 100% of our staff have had significant decreases in hours and pay.

We have set up a Virtual Tip Jar to help supplement the tipped income lost by our dedicated and hard-working team.  All of the money raised will be divided up among our staff and go directly to them, to help support in this time of financial uncertainty.

This time of social distancing has reminded us more than ever how special our community is, and we are looking forward to the day when we can open up the doors for everyone’s enjoyment once again.

Basically, we miss you!

Thank you so much for any support you can offer.

There are a few more meaningful ways you can help us, our employees, and our farmer partners around the world:

  • We are open Monday – Friday from 7am – 7pm and Saturday – Sunday from 8am – 7pm offering carry-out (keeping appropriate social distance and touch-free checkout), and curbside delivery by calling 919-968-9410. See current offerings in menu below:

  • Visit Carrboro Coffee Roasters’ online shop & order coffee, brewing equipment, gift cards, and more. They ship anywhere in the U.S. and you can get it right to your door without ever leaving your home. Don’t need coffee yet? Send some to friends and family who do. You can also subscribe to monthly coffee deliveries or give a subscription as a gift.  SHOPCARRBOROCOFFEE.COM

  • Online gift cards will support Open Eye Cafe & Caffe Driade, and the employees who work so hard every day, 364 days a year to brighten your day with amazing beverages.

  • If, like us, you are worried about the economic survival of all the local restaurants and retail shops that make our community a better place, please keep spreading the word on our efforts & all the ways people can continue to support without leaving home.

  • Maybe you, or someone you know, can take a moment to post our efforts, write an article, or interview us to help spread the word.

February/March Barista’s Choice

It’s that time again! Our first Barista Highlight and Barista’s Choice drink of 2020 is Pierce a.k.a. Panther, and his White Chocolate Mocha ????????10% of the proceeds for his drink will be donated to MAPS: The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies – a non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and cannabis. Panther’s White Chocolate Mocha will be on this month and all of March – make sure to order one and support a great organization! Read more about Panther, his drink and choice of charity below ????????

Q: Tell us about your baristas choice drink.
A: The White Chocolate Mocha; Ghirardelli white chocolate chips melted under our signature Piedmont espresso, steamed milk, topped with a Ghirardelli milk chocolate whipped cream and dusted with cocoa. This sweet and indulgent drink is perfect for your morning pick-me-up or an after dinner dessert.
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Q: What charity are you choosing to donate proceeds of your drink to this month & why?
A: MAPS: The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. This non-profit organization works to develop medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful and monitored uses of psychedelics. I’ve had friends and family afflicted by varying mental and physical illnesses that could potentially be treated by medicinal psychedelic means and I believe it is a greatly underutilized and misunderstood field of research.

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Q: Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
A: I’ve seen the chupacabra in Carrboro during its migration season
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Q: In honor of single’s awareness day this month, what is the worst date you’ve ever been on?
A: In seventh grade I went to see Twilight with my first girlfriend and her dad. She saw some friends in the theatre next to ours and went to talk to them, which lasted the entire movie. I ended up watching Twilight with a dad I didn’t know, then my mom picked me up and I went home.
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Q: What is the first concert you ever went to?
A: My parents took my to see the Allman brothers when I was like 1 year old. The first concert I ever chose to go to personally was Fall Out Boy in maybe likeee… 2005?
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Q: What’s your favorite drink to order in cafés right now?
A: Double ristretto Piedmont Espresso.
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Q: What book(s) are you reading right now?
A: Ripley’s Believe it or Not 2008
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Q: Cats or Dogs?
A: I like big cats and little dogs
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Q: Beach or Mountains?
A: Beach
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Q: Favorite alt. Milk?
A: Soy
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Q: Go-to Latte art?
A: Rosetta
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Q: Favorite herbal tea?
A: Eight Herb
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Q: Favorite Carrboro Coffee Roasters coffee?
A: Edith Meza’s Finca Tasta

December Barista’s Choice

 

????BARISTA HIGHLIGHT | Meet our fearless leader, Michelle and her barista’s choice creation, the “Holiday P-Ardi,” an Ardi cold brew, cranberry, ginger-beer coffee mocktail ????☕️???? 10% of proceeds for the “Holiday P-Ardi” being donated to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.
Michelle manages our awesome staff and we are so incredibly grateful for her positive attitude and dedication to making the cafe an amazing place to work! Learn a little more about Michelle and her delicious drink below ????????
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Q Tell us about your barista’s choice drink!
A: I wanted to create something fun and celebratory for the Holidays – something that would feel festive and seasonal, but not a flavored latte style drink. I used to manage bars, so I have a lot of experience creating cocktail menus, and wanted to use that skill along with my love of iced sparkling drinks to create a “Coffee Mocktail”. For this drink, I drew inspiration from one of my favorite classic cocktails, the “Dark & Stormy”. The drink is typically made with Dark Rum, lime, and ginger beer, but my creation replaces the dark rum with our cold brewed Ethiopia Ardi coffee concentrate. I then added a shot of house-made cranberry syrup to add a winter flavor to the drink. The fruity flavor profile of the Ardi blends nicely with the lime and cranberry and the molasses quality of the coffee is reminiscent of a dark rum. You feel like you’re drinking a cocktail at a Holiday Party (thus the name!), but it’s non-alcoholic and caffeinated. The drink is built like a cocktail using a cocktail shaker, poured over ice, and then topped with the ginger beer and garnished with crystalized ginger and sugared cranberries. It’s served with a straw so that you can mix the drink around as you enjoy it (rest assured, it’s a compostable straw).
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Q What charity are you choosing to donate proceeds of your drink to this month and why?
A: I’m choosing to donate proceeds from my drink to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center (OCRCC). The staff and volunteers work tirelessly to stop sexual violence and its impact through support, education, and advocacy. As a past Board Member, serving as the Development Committee Chair, this organization is near and dear to me. As the manager of the cafes, I value the resources they offer to help educate our staff through workshops aimed at creating and upholding a safe space for all.
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Q Tell us a a fun fact about yourself
A: I was one of the first employees when Open Eye first opened in 1999 in the location where Neal’s Deli is now located!
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Q What is your New Years Resolution?
A: I don’t have any specific resolutions, but I do like to think of the New Year as a good time to reflect and take the time to work on continuing to be a better person to myself and those around me.
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Q Cats or Dogs
A: I don’t have favorites – I love them both!
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Q Beach or Mountains
A: A mountainous beach
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Q What’s your favorite drink to order in cafes right now?
A: Either a cup of black drip coffee, a mocha cappuccino with our new house-made whipped cream on top, or an oat milk matcha latte
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Q What book(s) are you reading right now?
A: Most recently read: “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
And I’m currently re-visiting some of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks like “Heart of the Home” by local author Ann Jackson, and the cookbook from Athens, GA vegetarian eatery, “The Grit”. I read about food and beverage a lot 😉
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Q Favorite alt Milk?
A: Oat Milk hands down.
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Q Go-to Latte art
A: When I have the rare pleasure of getting on bar and steaming milk, I like to go for the rosetta.
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Q Favorite herbal tea?
A: I absolutely love the curiously earthy Rooibos tea….Especially made as a latte with steamed oat milk and a little bit of honey
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Q Favorite Carrboro Coffee Roasters coffee?
A: I’m a huge fan of Ethiopia Ardi in general. The Holiday blend is my favorite right now – It’s a harmonious blend of two coffees we’ve previously highlighted on pour over at the cafes – the La Rosa Yellow Catuai, and the Moonset Dwarf Gesha. It’s floral and honey sweet, with a smooth black tea finish. I really love its versatility which allows it to be equally enjoyed using different brewing methods – not only is it spectacular as a pour over at the cafes, but also just as lovely when brewed at home using my french press.

Thanksgiving Hours – we are OPEN!

We are OPEN on Thanksgiving from 7am-5pm!

Come in and get a delicious beverage to jump-start your busy (or laid back) day.