Whether iced or hot, with cream and sugar or not, Americans love coffee a latte.

According to a Drive Research survey released earlier this year, roughly half of people in the US frequent a coffee shop at least once per week. At AU, faculty, staff, and students can get their fix from a trio of rivaling java joints—the Bridge Café, Starbucks, and the Davenport Lounge—located no more than a three-minute walk from one another.

Over the next three weeks, AU Now will spill the beans on what makes those coffee shops special.

Up first: the Bridge.

Music from Drake, SZA, and Mac Miller blasts from the Bridge Café as a team of baristas works diligently to whittle down a line snaking out the door on the second floor of Butler Pavilion. Behind the employees working the espresso machine, a chalkboard drawing of rapper Tupac Shakur donning a red bandana looks out into an oblong room with nary an open seat.

Among the Bridge’s loyal patrons is Lane Rabon, SIS/BA ’27. The international relations major started frequenting the coffee spot during his first year on campus because it was a short walk from his room in McDowell Hall. When he made two friends who worked there, Rabon started stopping by about three days a week in hopes of scoring the prized free drink each barista can hand out during their shift.

Even when he doesn’t drink for free, however, Rabon is happy to shell out few bucks to sip a lavender latte while he does his homework. “It’s a mental thing,” he said. “If I buy a coffee, then I’m investing in the study session.”

Established in 2017, the Bridge pulls patrons in and invites them to stay a while. Students often lounge on couches or settle in at tables for hours at a time; some are deep in conversation with friends while others have their noses in a book as they nurse a latte—by far the Bridge’s most popular beverage.

Of the 115,000 drinks sold last year, more than a quarter were lattes—an Italian coffee made with espresso shots and steamed milk. But for those Eagles who flock to the Bridge, the community is an even bigger draw than the coffee.

“I wasn’t intrigued by many of the clubs on our campus,” said Abby Stuckrath, SOC/BA ’24, former events manager “But every time I came in here it looked like it was a group of people that love each other and that had fun.”

And that fun extends well past the time coffee lovers have switched to decaf. At night, the Bridge stays open late for student group events, including open mic nights and poetry readings.

“We’re not just a coffee shop,” Bridge manager Cat Gleason said. “We’re an event space for students. That’s what makes us so special.”

This three-part series continues next week with Starbucks.