Brewed Awakening coffee bar in development on Syracuse’s Near West Side

SYRACUSE — Brewed Awakening, a coffee bar and roaster, is a business that’s in development at Cosmopolitan 1153, a building that rents office and retail space at 1153 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse.

Jeffrey Buck, sole proprietor of Brewed Awakening and its lone employee to this point, started producing coffee grounds for a small group of clients on July 8.

Buck, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 24, says he hopes to launch the coffee bar sometime in 2018. 

“It’s essentially set up just like a bar,” says Buck, noting it’ll have a keg and tap system. 

It’ll operate on the first floor of the Cosmopolitan, which is awaiting some construction work.

“We’re hoping [to open] within the next [several] months,” says Buck, adding that Cosmopolitan 1153 will handle the renovation work. 

Its website describes the Cosmopolitan 1153 as a 100,000-square-foot building with commercial space for office and retail that’s available for rent or lease. 

The venue includes businesses such as Stout Beard Brewing Co. and Knitty Gritty Yarns.

When he opens the coffee bar, Buck hopes to hire four employees, including a manager and three baristas, sometime in 2018. 

Buck currently operates in a 750-square-foot space producing coffee and cold-brewed coffee. He leases the manufacturing space from the Cosmopolitan 1153, he says. 

Buck declined to disclose how much revenue he hopes to generate in 2017, but indicates he plans to invest much of it back into the business. He also declined to disclose how much he’s spent to develop and launch the business as of now, but indicated a $1,000 scholarship that the Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives awarded him in May 5 has helped in the endeavor. 

Buck graduated from Fulton’s G. Ray Bodley High School in 2004. He worked in several local jobs before joining the U.S. Army in January 2008. He served in the Army until August 2015 in locations that included Colorado Springs, Colorado; Iraq; and Afghanistan. 

He moved back to the area in 2016 and is now pursuing a degree in business management at Bryant & Stratton College.

Pursuing the business

Buck says “a lot of factors” went into his decision to pursue a coffee business, noting his ex-girlfriend had worked in a coffee shop and had always wanted her own. He used the idea of a coffee shop to build business and marketing plans in his classes at Bryant & Stratton as he pursues a business-management degree.

“I would implement those ideas that we had into those business plans,” he says. 

Buck secured space in Cosmopolitan 1153 in early June after a friend informed him that the building manager wanted to discuss bringing Buck and his business into the building.

“It was a fit for both of us,” he says.

Buck plans to operate six days with a weekday schedule that includes morning hours and closing in the early-afternoon hours. He’ll reopen from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to cater those working evening and late-night hours. 

When asked if he’s prepared to compete in a market that includes national chains and locally owned coffee retailers, Buck says he plans to incorporate delivery into his coffee-bar business to provide his customers with an element of “convenience.”

“Whenever you have meetings and you’d like 10 cups of coffee, I’ll have 10 cups of coffee there ready to go,” says Buck. 

When asked if that will involve hiring a delivery person, Buck replied, “Yeah, eventually.”

Buck gets his coffee beans from Smith Housewares & Restaurant Supply at 500 Erie Blvd. East in Syracuse.

He also wants to offer the coffee products of Ithaca–based Gimme! Coffee and the Utica Roasting Company, hoping those firms can “work together, not against each other.”

When asked for whom Buck is producing coffee grounds, he said “right now” it’s mostly family and friends. He also noted that he’s been working with “some clients” on distribution proposals, but declined to name any of the clients. 

As a military veteran, Buck enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at Syracuse University in August and in the Boots to Business program that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers at the Veteran Business Outreach Center in Watervliet.

He’s also sought assistance from the SBA and the local Small Business Development Center, Buck notes.           

SYRACUSE — Brewed Awakening, a coffee bar and roaster, is a business that’s in development at Cosmopolitan 1153, a building that rents office and retail space at 1153 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse.

Jeffrey Buck, sole proprietor of Brewed Awakening and its lone employee to this point, started producing coffee grounds for a small group of clients on July 8.

Buck, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 24, says he hopes to launch the coffee bar sometime in 2018. 

“It’s essentially set up just like a bar,” says Buck, noting it’ll have a keg and tap system. 

It’ll operate on the first floor of the Cosmopolitan, which is awaiting some construction work.

“We’re hoping [to open] within the next [several] months,” says Buck, adding that Cosmopolitan 1153 will handle the renovation work. 

Its website describes the Cosmopolitan 1153 as a 100,000-square-foot building with commercial space for office and retail that’s available for rent or lease. 

The venue includes businesses such as Stout Beard Brewing Co. and Knitty Gritty Yarns.

When he opens the coffee bar, Buck hopes to hire four employees, including a manager and three baristas, sometime in 2018. 

Buck currently operates in a 750-square-foot space producing coffee and cold-brewed coffee. He leases the manufacturing space from the Cosmopolitan 1153, he says. 

Buck declined to disclose how much revenue he hopes to generate in 2017, but indicates he plans to invest much of it back into the business. He also declined to disclose how much he’s spent to develop and launch the business as of now, but indicated a $1,000 scholarship that the Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives awarded him in May 5 has helped in the endeavor. 

Buck graduated from Fulton’s G. Ray Bodley High School in 2004. He worked in several local jobs before joining the U.S. Army in January 2008. He served in the Army until August 2015 in locations that included Colorado Springs, Colorado; Iraq; and Afghanistan. 

He moved back to the area in 2016 and is now pursuing a degree in business management at Bryant & Stratton College.

Pursuing the business

Buck says “a lot of factors” went into his decision to pursue a coffee business, noting his ex-girlfriend had worked in a coffee shop and had always wanted her own. He used the idea of a coffee shop to build business and marketing plans in his classes at Bryant & Stratton as he pursues a business-management degree.

“I would implement those ideas that we had into those business plans,” he says. 

Buck secured space in Cosmopolitan 1153 in early June after a friend informed him that the building manager wanted to discuss bringing Buck and his business into the building.

“It was a fit for both of us,” he says.

Buck plans to operate six days with a weekday schedule that includes morning hours and closing in the early-afternoon hours. He’ll reopen from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to cater those working evening and late-night hours. 

When asked if he’s prepared to compete in a market that includes national chains and locally owned coffee retailers, Buck says he plans to incorporate delivery into his coffee-bar business to provide his customers with an element of “convenience.”

“Whenever you have meetings and you’d like 10 cups of coffee, I’ll have 10 cups of coffee there ready to go,” says Buck. 

When asked if that will involve hiring a delivery person, Buck replied, “Yeah, eventually.”

Buck gets his coffee beans from Smith Housewares & Restaurant Supply at 500 Erie Blvd. East in Syracuse.

He also wants to offer the coffee products of Ithaca–based Gimme! Coffee and the Utica Roasting Company, hoping those firms can “work together, not against each other.”

When asked for whom Buck is producing coffee grounds, he said “right now” it’s mostly family and friends. He also noted that he’s been working with “some clients” on distribution proposals, but declined to name any of the clients. 

As a military veteran, Buck enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at Syracuse University in August and in the Boots to Business program that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers at the Veteran Business Outreach Center in Watervliet.

He’s also sought assistance from the SBA and the local Small Business Development Center, Buck notes.