On Friday afternoon, The Nitro Bar held the first soft opening for its new Ives Street location. The cafe, which began as a pop-up coffee cart that traveled around Providence, will officially open its second Providence location on Thursday, according to Audrey Finocchiaro, who co-owns The Nitro Bar.
The Nitro Bar announced plans for its new location in April, taking over the space occupied by Glou, a Fox Point bar that closed earlier this year. When Glou contacted The Nitro Bar about selling the space, “it was serendipity,” Finocchiaro said in an interview with The Herald.
The Ives Street location was originally slated to open in late May or early June, but “it took a little bit longer than we wanted it to,” Finocchiaro said. This was the “biggest build-out that we’ve done,” she added.
The Nitro Bar on Ives Street originally planned its opening for Friday, Finocchiaro said, but with the forecasted Nor’easter they did not want customers to visit in potentially hazardous weather conditions.
Instead, they opted for a soft opening on Friday afternoon and limited hours over the weekend, which will extend into this week.
“We also wanted to have the team be able to have time and get to know the space and make sure they feel comfortable in it” before fully opening the cafe, Finocchiaro added. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, The Nitro Bar posted an Instagram story sharing the soft opening hours with followers, but the official opening date has not been announced online.
“We have had such great feedback from the community,” Finocchiaro said, adding that she appreciated the Providence locals who visited the cafe during its initial soft opening on Friday.
“Glou was such a meeting hub for everyone, and so I think that loss was really felt,” she said. The cafe’s neighbors were “so grateful for (The Nitro Bar) putting intention back in the space,” she added. Finocchiaro hopes to see Brown and RISD students attend The Nitro Bar’s new location.
Lilia Duque ’27 came to The Nitro Bar during Saturday’s soft opening after seeing that the cafe was open on Instagram. Duque told The Herald that she is “super stoked” about The Nitro Bar’s new location.
“I love how close it is to campus,” she said, adding that “students who don’t have a car or have a hard time getting access to the other Nitro Bar locations can still enjoy a community space.”
Kiara Anderson ’27 noted that while she feels that College Hill is somewhat oversaturated with coffee shops, there is still a “high demand” for them among students as people look for spaces to work and grab a sweet treat.
Frances Saenz, a North Providence resident, is “super excited” about The Nitro Bar’s new location because she works just down the street. “I feel like they know what they’re doing with coffee,” she said. Saenz appreciates the variety of coffee shops in this area, noting that “it’s nice to have different places to go” when she wants a coffee.
Sophie Mueller ’29, who stopped by The Nitro Bar on Saturday, similarly enjoys the variety of the College Hill coffee shop scene.
“The Nitro Bar was so far away that it was like an outing before,” Mueller said, referring to the cafe’s Federal Hill location. Mueller is currently living in Perkins Hall, so the cafe’s new location is relatively close to her, she said, adding that she appreciates how “spacious” it is.
Camille Cardona, a wedding photographer from Florida, visited the cafe’s new location while on a work trip.
She discovered The Nitro Bar while hunting for a local coffee shop during a previous work trip to Rhode Island. After trying it for the first time, she “came back every single day and tried a different thing each time” throughout that trip.
Cardona especially appreciates the “intentionality of the branding” that The Nitro Bar uses, adding that it makes the cafe “inviting.” Cardona enjoys the whip that the cafe puts on many of their iced coffees, but she added that “even the basic coffees are good.”
Finocchiaro reflected on the cafe’s origin as a coffee cart traveling around Providence. She noted that bringing The Nitro Bar cart to Brown “turned around the whole business,” and the business would not be the same without College Hill.
“It feels like coming home,” Finocchiaro said.
Pavani Durbhakula is a Metro editor. She is a junior from DC and is studying IAPA and Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading and searching for new coffee shops.
