Augusta University
Stacey EidsonWhether you are studying for exams, getting together with friends or looking for that perfect corner to read in peace, the Augusta area has a rich and vibrant coffee culture to help keep you caffeinated.
Not only can Augusta University students, faculty and staff savor the flavors that fuel this city, but several of the locally owned coffee shops offer discounts through the JagPerks program.
Augusta University recently launched JagPerks, a program that provides special discounts to students, faculty and staff at participating local businesses, in collaboration with the not-for-profit corporation Destination Augusta, which promotes tourism in the Augusta area.
JagPerks offers members of the AU community discounts at certain area businesses providing a wide range of shopping, services, entertainment, food and more. A valid JagID must be presented at the establishment for discounts.
This fall and spring semesters, AU’s Jagwire is highlighting several JagPerks partners. Visit Augusta University’s JagPerks webpage for a full list of local partners, the addresses of the businesses and a description of each of the discounts.
Buona Caffe
Nestled in between AU’s Summerville and Health Sciences campuses is a charming house at 1858 Central Ave. that has been the home of Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee for more than a decade.
In June 2013, owners Pat and John Curry opened the doors of Buona Caffe and the Augusta University community immediately embraced the coffee shop’s warm and inviting atmosphere along with its delicious, artisan-roasted coffee.
“We just love having the students here and being part of their college experience,” Pat Curry said. “We enjoy celebrating with them. Just recently, it seemed like everybody on one side of the dining room and out on the deck was studying for something. We asked them, ‘How are you guys doing? Do you need anything? We are here for you. We know you’re going to do a great job.’ We try to be their cheerleaders. We want to support them as much as they support us.”
Over the years, the Currys have gotten to personally know several students, including medical students who are now doctors throughout the community and beyond.
“That’s one of the things we love about this location,” Pat Curry said. “We like to say we’re doing our part for the future of health care because we have so many med students who come in here to drink our coffee and study.”
“We just love having the students here and being part of their college experience. We enjoy celebrating with them.”
Pat Curry, co-owner of Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee
One of her favorite days of the year is Match Day, when students from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University receive their envelopes with information about where they are matched for residency.
“We have med students come in here on Match Day all dressed up in their funny costumes,” Pat Curry said, smiling. “They’re at the end of their medical school education here in Augusta, getting ready to leave, and we celebrate that with them. It means a lot to us that they want to share their Match Day with us. That’s super special.”
But it’s not just the students who stop by for a little caffeine pick-me-up, John Curry said.
“We have a lot of doctors and professors come by,” John Curry said. “For example, Dr. Monte Hunter, the head of orthopaedic surgery at MCG, is in this shop literally every day. Usually twice a day.”
Pat Curry said Hunter has become an important part of the Buona Caffe family.
“Monte has been so gracious with his time and expertise. I’ve jokingly told him he just needs to open up a branch here in the shop because he’s taken care of so many members of the staff, including both of us and our daughter,” she said. “Our baker has made a special treat for his wife because Monte really cares about this coffee shop and the entire company.”
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 10% off all menu items at Buona Caffe through the JagPerks program.
The Currys’ journey into this second career in coffee began not long after John Curry, a 35-year photojournalist, accepted a position at The Augusta Chronicle as the visuals director in 2009.
“John and I have always been coffee drinkers. We met when we were in high school in Fort Myers, Florida, and we began working at a newspaper,” Pat Curry said. “People who work in newspapers drink lots of coffee. Usually really bad coffee. But after a while, we moved from drinking whatever was on sale at the grocery store to something that was a little more elevated. Eventually, we began grinding our own beans.”
One day, John Curry read an article about roasting beans at home with a hot-air popcorn popper, and he began experimenting with coffee beans. From there, he advanced to a tabletop roaster, Pat Curry said.
“John would sit out on the front porch on Saturday mornings and roast enough coffee for us for the week. It took a really long time,” she said. “But that’s when friends started asking us if they could buy it.”
“We want our customers to know that they’re welcome here. They’re appreciated here. They’re valued here.”
Pat Curry, co-owner of Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee
In January 2010, the Currys began Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee, first roasting out of their home, then roasting in the back half of a former dental lab they rented on Central Avenue.
“We bought a 12-pound roaster and began supplying coffee to local restaurants and selling our beans to whoever managed to find us down the alley that led to our 250-square-foot office space off Central,” Pat Curry said, laughing. “In August of 2011, John got laid off from the Chronicle. It was our third layoff in 2 1/2 years. At that point, we said, ‘That’s it. We’re done. We’re going to try roasting coffee full time.’ And that’s what we did.”
Since then, Buona Caffe has regularly been voted best coffee by the readers of Augusta Magazine. FodorsTravel.com named Buona Caffe one of the top indie coffee shops in America, and the Currys even started roasting coffee for the Georgia Governor’s Mansion in 2014.
Just last month, Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee was ranked ninth in Yelp Augusta’s list of the Top Places to Eat in Augusta for 2024.
Buona Caffe also works closely with community organizations, making special blends of coffees and helping cater events throughout the Augusta area including functions for Golden Harvest Food Bank, the Augusta Symphony, the Morris Museum of Art, The Salvation Army, Clínica Latina, SafeHomes Domestic Violence Center, Lynndale, Inc. and many more.
Today, not only is Buona Caffe the roaster of Jaguar Java, the official coffee of Augusta University, but it also has a coffee shop located inside the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center at 100 Grace Hopper Lane. That space opened in 2018, the same year the company moved roasting from Central Avenue to an 8,000-square-foot facility at 520 Reynolds St.
The Reynolds Street location is also home to Buona Caffe’s training center and commercial coffee equipment showroom. JagPerks can be used there in its café, which is open Wednesday through Saturday.
“Being part of the AU community is important to us,” Pat Curry said. “We have always actively looked for ways that we could be involved with AU. During the course of the day, we will have the full range of the Augusta community walk through the doors of our shop.”
One Buona Caffe regular was always former Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel, PhD, who retired this summer and relocated to Florida.
“Dr. Keel was in here almost every morning,” Pat Curry said. “He would come in and get a large drip (coffee) and sometimes a pastry. We knew that he was a big coffee drinker.”
That’s one aspect of the coffee shop that the Currys thoroughly enjoy: Everyone feels comfortable at Buona Caffe.
“We want our customers to know that they’re welcome here. They’re appreciated here. They’re valued here,” Pat Curry said. “There’s no reason for us to open the doors every morning except to take care of them. At its heart, this is a transactional relationship, because we’re selling something they’re buying, but it is so much more than that.
“This entire community is massively important to us,” she added. “So, if there’s any way we can help, we will make it happen.”
Relic Coffee Company
Located just minutes from AU’s Summerville Campus, Relic Coffee Company at 1504 Monte Sano Ave. is a family-owned business that unites old-world traditions with innovative, new-wave roasting and brewing methods to create a distinctly unique flavor experience.
Relic’s beans are hand-picked by industry professionals from family farms all around Ecuador and roasted locally in Athens, Georgia, by Choco Coffee Roasters, said Nikole Gonzalez, the general manager of Relic.
“All of the coffee beans are from different parts of Ecuador. We offer the only Ecuadorian beans in the Augusta market,” Gonzalez said. “The coffee beans from Ecuador have some of the highest grades when it comes to flavor. And I can say, growing up in Ecuador, coffee is very big in the culture.”
Gonzalez’s brother and sister-in-law, Caesar Schettini and Moniqua Acosta, are the owners of Relic.
“They opened Relic in August of 2023, so we’ve been open more than a year now,” Gonzalez said. “It’s been awesome to be here working with my older brother and his wife. Our mom Lupita is also part of the team. She makes the bread fresh each day in the back of the house. So, we are a very tight family.”
The quality of the ingredients in each item on the menu is important at Relic, Gonzalez said.
“The menu has been curated with alternative milks and syrups that are also made in-house,” she said. “Our syrup called panela is made from sugarcane juice. It’s a staple in Ecuador because of its richness and sweetness. Also, it’s natural.”
The items on Relic’s menu are made with love, Gonzalez said.
“There’s a lot of products that are worked on here in house, so there’s a lot of preparation,” she said. “Like I said, the bread is all made from scratch in-house, baked every morning. So you’ll always be able to find a tray full of bread every morning. And that bread is used for the sandwiches as well. Even the mayo that is used on sandwiches is made in-house.”
“All of the coffee beans are from different parts of Ecuador. We offer the only Ecuadorian beans in the Augusta market.”
Nikole Gonzalez, the general manager of Relic Coffee Company
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 10% off food and beverage items at Relic through the JagPerks program. Merchandise and retail items are not eligible for a discount. Discounts are available Tuesday through Sunday.
“What makes Relic so special is Caesar and Moniqua’s fusion of both their love of coffee combined with their passion for the flavors of Ecuador,” Gonzalez said. “Together they have created all these flavors and all these products that they’re very passionate about.
“While my brother grew up in Ecuador, Moniqua also had an opportunity to work with coffee in her own way,” Gonzalez added. “She has experience working in Panama, where she got to learn more about the process of growing the coffee beans and the different types of beans, as well as the drying and roasting processes. She has an extremely refined palate. And when they met, they realized that they shared that big passion together.”
The couple also enjoys having a coffee shop that can help promote the local community, Gonzalez said.
“For my brother and Moniqua, one of the many important things was for them to be able to offer coffee to the neighborhood,” Gonzalez said, adding AU plays a major role in this community. “It is such an awesome experience having Augusta University as our neighbor because the college brings a lot of diverse people to the area. People with different perspectives and experiences who can come here and enjoy a great cup of coffee in a relaxing atmosphere.”
Not only is Acosta a co-owner of Relic, but she is also a lecturer in the Department of English and World Languages in AU’s Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
“She has been teaching Spanish for a few years at AU,” Gonzalez said. “So, we have close ties to the university. And with us being so close to campus, we love that students can just say to a classmate or friend, ‘I’m going to walk down the street and grab a coffee. Do you want to go?’”
“We want everyone to enjoy their experience, and we care how you feel every time you come in here.”
Nikole Gonzalez, the general manager of Relic Coffee Company
The owners and staff at Relic want all of their customers to feel like they are at home when they enter the coffee shop, Gonzalez said.
“We want everyone to enjoy their experience, and we care how you feel every time you come in here,” she said. “Whether that be a student visiting us for the first time or someone bringing their parents here from out of town or regulars coming in with their children, we always strive to provide them with a great experience. Being such a close family ourselves, it is very important to us to be able to provide that kind of experience to our customers.”
Cavalier’s Coffeehouse
In the summer of 2021, a 21-year-old entrepreneur named David Brannon saw an opportunity to create an old-world style café in Jackson Square off Georgia Avenue in the heart of downtown North Augusta.
Brannon, a native of North Augusta and graduate of Harvard University, had seen the expansion of the nearby Greeneway, Hammond’s Ferry community, Riverside Village and SRP Park over the years and knew it was a good opportunity to create a new “social hub” for the neighborhood.
With that, Cavalier’s Coffeehouse was born.
Located at 336 Georgia Ave., Suite 107, in Jackson Square, Cavalier’s serves the Durham, N.C.-based Counter Culture Coffee and all the syrups are made in-house.
Cavalier’s signature flavored coffees are inspired by the local character of North Augusta, said Donna Owen, manager of Cavalier’s Coffeehouse.
“Our coffee is from Counter Culture, and it tastes amazing,” Owen said, adding that Counter Culture is a leader in sustainable coffee sourcing. “They offer a huge variety of coffees and source it from all over the place. So, customers have a broad range of coffees from light to dark and everything in between.”
“A lot of the university students come here and study, especially when they’re prepping for exams or boards. I would love to see more students come this way.”
Donna Owen, manager of Cavalier’s Coffeehouse
Cavalier’s also offers customers wine and craft beers, as well as its vast coffee selection, Owen said.
“Our wines are sourced globally, and we strive to bring affordable, uncommon wines to the area,” Owen said. “And our beers are regionally focused, and they are mainly South Carolina beers.”
Now, after being open for more than 3 1/2 years, Owen said Cavalier’s always loves seeing their regular customers, but they also enjoy it when new residents venture through the doors.
“Once new customers come in that first time, they usually are like, ‘Oh, we’re coming back. We didn’t realize you were here. The coffee is great, and the atmosphere is so nice,’” Owen said. “We have an event center connected to the coffee shop, so we have extra seating, and then we have wonderful outside seating, as well.”
“I love North Augusta because it’s not a huge city. It’s a quaint little town. It’s easy to get to everything from here and you’re not caught in the big hustle, bustle of the bigger cities.”
Donna Owen, manager of Cavalier’s Coffeehouse
Cavalier’s also sees a steady stream of Augusta University students throughout the week, Owen said.
“A lot of the university students come here and study, especially when they’re prepping for exams or boards. You know which groups are coming when you see all the books,” Owen said, smiling. “But I would love to see more students come this way. I feel like the layout of our building is much more conducive to studying.
“It’s more spread out, and it’s a little quieter than some coffee shops,” she added. “So, they have a space where they can sit in a corner and can truly study.”
AU students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 20% off purchases at Cavalier’s on Thursdays through the JagPerks program.
“Most of the students who have been coming already know what day we offer the discount, so it’s kind of cool,” Owen said. “We are always excited to see them.”
Cavalier’s has been a perfect addition to the close-knit downtown North Augusta community, Owen said.
“I love North Augusta because it’s not a huge city. It’s a quaint little town,” Owen said. “It’s easy to get to everything from here and you’re not caught in the big hustle, and bustle of the bigger cities. Our coffee shop is situated in just a perfect little scenario.”
Bodega Ultima
Inspired by their mutual love of world travel and exploring new culinary experiences, the father-and-son team of Kevin and Cary Goldsmith introduced Augusta’s Surrey Center to Bodega Ultima more than nine years ago.
Almost a decade later, Bodega Ultima has become a staple in Surrey Center, known as a neighborhood café, where it is common to see the same customers two or three times a day.
“I grew up in the restaurant business,” said Cary Goldsmith, now the sole owner of Bodega Ultima. “My dad started TakoSushi here at Surrey Center in 2005, so I’ve been waiting tables and been around this shopping center since I was 15. I’m 36 now. So, I’ve grown up with a lot of these people, a lot of these vendors, and it’s a neat little community within a community.”
By 2015, the Goldsmiths decided they wanted a neighborhood café that would offer dishes from countries all over the world including Italy, Spain, France, Israel and Turkey.
“Dad and I opened this together and kind of the idea was to have a neighborhood European-style cafe inspired by a lot of our travels together in Spain and France,” Cary Goldsmith said. “We wanted to take more of the feel of places that we would see. For instance, we were staying in the same hotel, and we’d see the same people drinking a beer in the afternoon that you see getting espresso in the morning.
“By day three, you’d see familiar faces that are welcoming,” he added. “That was really the neighborhood vibe that we wanted here. So regardless of food, which we’re constantly changing, it was more just wanting to be a comfortable, cozy part of the community.”
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 10% off food and coffee menu items Monday through Thursday through the JagPerks program.
When Cary Goldsmith took over Bodega Ultima, he wanted to expand the café’s wine selection and offer a wine club.
“Since I bought my dad out a couple of years ago, we’ve grown into doing more wine tastings, as well, in the evenings,” Cary Goldsmith said. “I have a retail wine business, and I’m a sommelier. It’s a big passion of mine and encourages a lot of my travel and exploration of the world through wine.”
“I grew up in the restaurant business. My dad started TakoSushi here at Surrey Center in 2005, so I’ve been waiting tables and been around this shopping center since I was 15. I’m 36 now.”
Cary Goldsmith, owner of Bodega Ultima in Surrey Center
Located at 353 Highland Ave. in the lower level of Surrey Center, Bodega Ultima has a relaxed but sophisticated atmosphere that attracts customers from all over the community and beyond.
“When people ask me what is one of my favorite things about the restaurant, the answer is easy,” Cary Goldsmith said. “It’s when I come in here in the morning, and it could be 7:30 a.m., and I’ll have some people studying in one area. And I’ll have a table of nurses who are decompressing after a long shift in another area. And then, in the corner, I will have executives from Augusta National and the mayor having a meeting about, potentially, the future of our city. I love it.”
Cary Goldsmith said he can’t confirm it, but he’s been told the beginnings of the Georgia Cyber Center started at Bodega Ultima.
“I had someone tell me just the other day that the initial meeting for the cyber center was drawn up on the back of a cocktail napkin here,” he said, smiling. “It’s cool to think that we are a part of events like that here. We are part of this community, big and small. For example, we have a rehearsal dinner here tonight. We are able to be a part of big things in people’s lives, and big things in the community, and that’s kind of a cool thing to be able to say.”
Ubora Coffee
Established in the heart of downtown Augusta at 1128 Jones St. in November 2018, Ubora Coffee is located just a few blocks from the hustle and bustle of the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center.
When owners Andre Leon and Phillip Weisner opened the doors of Ubora Coffee, they wanted to do more than offer customers an outstanding cup of coffee.
They also wanted to serve their community, said Andre Leon, who has been an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy for the past 12 years.
“Serving your country leads to trying to serve your community,” Leon said. “I’m a big believer that if you were blessed with the opportunities to study or grow or have a good career, it is your civic duty to pass it on and to help others. So that’s where Ubora comes into play.”
While Ubora’s goal is to “strive for excellence in every cup,” Leon explained that Ubora’s objective is to cultivate a sense of community and collaboration at the coffee shop to provide an environment that generates conversations and connections.
Coffee is simply the fun part, Leon said, laughing.
Leon is proud of the fact that Ubora is making an impact on the local community in a range of ways. The business has allowed some employees to find their passion for coffee and develop their career in it, and for others an opportunity to pursue their college degrees, he said.
“We’ve had many of our employees come in and they didn’t know what they wanted to do in life,” Leon said. “We did a little bit of mentorship and eventually they stayed with us for a while and got into college. Now, they are on a new path in life. We had others who wanted to quit college because they needed money. We were like, ‘No. You’re not quitting college. Continue. Let us know how we can help.’”
“Ubora was born out of the passion for coffee and being able to have a positive impact on this community.”
Andre Leon, co-founder of Ubora Coffee
There is also more than one story of patrons not only finding their significant other at Ubora, but having their proposals there where they first met, Leon said.
“It is beautiful to see,” he said. “And I’m happy and proud to say that Ubora has been that place.”
Leon explained he developed a passion for coffee over time.
Reminiscing about his first coffee drink that made an impression on him, he described going to a coffee shop in Campli, Italy, a tiny town in the middle of the mountains.
“I decided, ‘You know what? I’m in Italy, let me see what all this talk about cappuccinos and lattes is truly about,’” Leon said. “I went down to the small town and I asked for a cappuccino and it just blew my mind. It was the most amazing drink I ever had.”
He began to ask questions about how the coffee was made.
The employees at the cafe explained to him the coffee was roasted not too far away from town and the milk came from cows only a couple of miles away, Leon said.
“I was like, ‘Wow. OK, so this is real coffee.’ And that’s what triggered it,” he said. “Eventually, I joined the Navy, tried more coffee around the world, and really the passion continued to grow. And here we are.”
Today, Ubora offers an array of specialty coffees, all roasted in-house, responsibly sourced and fair traded from coffee farmers and producers from around the world, Leon said.
“Every one of our coffees has a story to tell, like our Rwanda Humere coffee which directly supports the livelihoods of 12 farmers,” he said. “Here at Ubora, we’re trying to bring that tradition, that European influence into what we do with the products that we use and trying to be environmentally friendly and organic as possible.”
“I went down to the small town and I asked for a cappuccino and it just blew my mind. It was the most amazing drink I ever had.”
Andre Leon, co-founder of Ubora Coffee
It’s all about providing the highest level of quality possible, Leon said.
“That’s why we decided to also be roasters, not just the coffee house,” he said. “As roasters, we could control that supply chain. I know exactly where the coffee comes from, who are the suppliers and who are the farmers. I have that quality control in-house.”
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 15% off coffee and tea drinks, bagged coffee and tea bags. The discount cannot be combined with any other offer.
Since opening their downtown location, Ubora has continued to grow. In April 2019, Ubora introduced a coffee truck to promote its coffee at festivals, city events and more. In August 2023, Ubora opened a drive-thru location at 116 North Belair Road in Evans, Georgia.
“Ubora was born out of the passion for coffee and being able to have a positive impact on this community,” Leon said. “We wanted a coffee house where people could conduct business, sit down, enjoy a phenomenal cup of coffee and have community collaboration. In this fast-paced life, we wanted to provide a place where people could slow down and simply have a conversation over a cup of coffee.”
Staff
Jamison Guice