Welcome to The Burg
story by Kindell Frampton & Gunner Stuns, designer Katrina Nolan, photographer Tyler Diltz
In the morning hours, when you first awake, what’s the one beverage you turn to for that burst of energy to start your day? Typically, the answer is Coffee. Across CWU campus and throughout Ellensburg, there are a variety of coffee stands and cafés where people go to get their morning fix, or their morning breakfast. One of the latest is a locale called The Burg, which opened last April and continues to serve the local community’s caffeine needs.
The Story Behind The Burg
Located up north near Nicholson Hall on Walnut Street, The Burg is a brand new café operated by Brooklyn Rowe, a fellow CWU student studying marketing. Though the business is currently owned by her parents, Rowe plans to take over once she has attained her degree, citing it as what she wants to do with her career. “I’ve always kind of talked about coffee shops and how much I loved them and that was kind of what I was interested in,” says Rowe. As for what The Burg has to offer, Rowe wants the coffee shop to serve as a comfortable place to spend time in the Ellensburg community, for students and locals alike. “It's just a welcoming environment where anyone really of all ages can go to hang out,” says Rowe. “Students can study, gather with friends, kids love it there too. We have a wide range of people there in ages. So I really love that about The Burg.”
Because Rowe is still in school and focusing on getting her degree, her parents Jim and Shannon Rowe currently own The Burg. Jim and Shannon Rowe also own other restaurants in Ellenburg, including the neighboring Wing Central and the W.C Roadhouse grill which is located downtown near the highway. With these other business ventures already in swing, what made them want to partner with their daughter on a coffee shop? Brooklyn Rowe says “[My parents] were like it’s something fun, new, a coffee shop was needed on that side of town, there weren’t really any over there…they had the space. [The building] used to be a laundromat and [my parents] were figuring out what to put there and a coffee shop just seemed right cause it’s so close to campus.” Due to the coffee shop being incredibly close to campus, the intended idea was for customers on the northern side of town to have somewhere they could get their coffee fix.
Unique Perspectives
One of the things that Rowe highlights about The Burg is how dedicated their team is to serving both customers and the community. When it comes to the process of expanding their team, this is something that Rowe considers heavily. “I wish people knew the dedication of our team. I love our team, we were really selective when choosing who was gonna work there when we first opened,” says Rowe. However, she also makes clear that this high level of dedication doesn’t mean they don’t also have fun at The Burg. Rowe says “we stuck with most of our team when we first opened in April and it’s super fun. We have a lot of fun together, we are friends, we do team bonding events, while trying to have a great time while also providing the best service.”
Another key strength of The Burg is Rowe’s age and status as a student at CWU. Because of this, she is able to bring her own unique perspective to the business, having an idea of what her peers want to see in a local coffee shop. Due to her experiences as a member of their target demographic, Rowe helps The Burg to stay relevant and to meet the needs of their customers. “I also love that since I am a college student, I’ve played a huge part in developing The Burg and how it is now,” says Rowe. “We have insight from younger generation [so we know] what college kids are looking for, what they wanna see, what kind of place, what kind of items they wanna have, what kind of deals they like. I like having that insight.” Her mission is to make The Burg a place for all ages and people, which is why it's helpful that she also has the perspectives of her parents, who are versed in running restaurants and have an idea of what older generations like to see. The more people that visit and the more feedback they receive, the more the whole family strives to create the best experience for their customers.
Unique Experiences At The Burg
Aside from the typical coffee and cozy, Rowe also plans for The Burg to hold events every now and again to keep things fun and unique for their customers. One of these outside-of-the-ordinary days is Wednesday, which The Burg calls their Board and Bottle Wednesday, or Wine Wednesday for short. According to Rowe, what they do is that every Wednesday, they set out a board with bruschetta and bottled wine or beer for people to come in and enjoy. So far, The Burg has hosted events related to jewelry and clothing, which were meant to attract student customers who may have a vested interest in fashion. Rowe says that The Burg is open to hosting events and catering for events, parties, teams or anything big happening on CWU campus. “We are just excited to have some more events. We opened it up to people having their own events here. If people wanted to throw a party, [wanted to have their] bridal shower there.” Rowe says. The Burg is currently looking and is open to hosting events in the coffee shop.
If these ideas intrigue you or find yourself up north and in need of a caffeine boost, consider stopping by The Burg. There are few other places to experience a business managed by your peers and designed by them for you.
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