While Berry decided to stop pursuing a career in music years ago, falling out of love with the professional side of the business, he named his café after the musical term. “For me, Reprise is familiar, it’s repeating the act, but differently,” he said while comparing his new shop to his old job. Berry joined Nitro in its early days when it was just a coffee cart, and ultimately rose from barista to the company’s director of coffee. He focused on testing and product development, and ultimately made Nitro’s syrups and other special recipes. For the last year, however, he had been dreaming of doing something on his own. “It was just time for me,” he said. Reprise will be serving coffee from Enjoy Coffee Roasters, a local roasting company based in Providence and run by Justin Enis. Like Berry, Enis made a name for himself while running the coffee program at Bolt Coffee for years. He left the local coffee industry in Providence for a few years, and then started selling drops of different coffee beans through the Enjoy brand online and through pop-ups . He built out Enjoy’s physical space earlier this year, and has been working to partner with local restaurants and cafés in order for them to add his coffee to their menus. “It feels like we kind of came up together,” Enis said, while sipping espresso and sitting at Pickerel’s bar. “So seeing us both break out with our own companies, and seeing him serving Enjoy is surreal.” All the classic specialty lattes and other espresso-based drinks will also be available at Reprise, said Enis, as well as matcha. Some might call Reprise a bit of a pop-up, where the coffee shop is running out of another existing place, and is impermanent and somewhat secret. But this model is the point. The term “pop-up restaurants” can be used to describe everything from a cookout in a parking lot, a chef “takeover” of another restaurant, or a makeshift taco stand operating out of a dive bar. They are used to test certain dishes, sneak previews, raise a chef’s brand recognition, and be the beginning makings of a future brick-and-mortar spot. It’s been a big trend in other cities, particularly where commercial rents are a high threshold for a new business. Some pop-up restaurants have been successful in Providence, such as the NIMKI pop-up at Courtland Club , where Nikhil Naiker has a one-year residency. Or Screaming Unicorn , which is a small from-scratch pop-up serving burgers and other plates at Buttonwoods Brewery ’s taproom. For Berry, he sees his lease at Pickerel to be the first chapter to opening his own brick-and-mortar storefront in the future. “I consider Reprise at Pickerel as my stepping stone into opening my own standalone location one day,” said Berry. “This is my shot to prove it’ll work.” Reprise is located inside of Pickerel at 3 Luongo Square in Providence, R.I. They will open daily at 6 a.m. Follow Reprise Coffee & Vittles on Instagram for updates. This story first appeared in The Food Club, a free weekly email newsletter about Rhode Island food and dining. Already a member of the club? Check your inbox for more news, recipes, and features in the latest newsletter. Not a member yet? If you’d like to receive it via e-mail each Thursday, you can sign up here .
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