Coffee and pastry afficionados can rest easy this week, as the Café C in the Elinor Ostrom building is under new management. Berend Blommers caters to those students and employees looking for that genuine café atmosphere. ‘In terms of pricing we’re somewhere between uni and the city.’

‘Beans from Ethiopia or El Salvador?’ It takes some getting used to questions like that from a barista in the Elinor Ostrom building. Before, all they had was a machine that took a single press of a button to make coffee, or cappuccino if you were lucky. But since the start of this week the coffee corner is in the hands of Nijmegen coffee roaster Blommers. And to them no two beans are alike. ‘We know precisely where they came from and who grew them’, says owner Berend Blommers. To him, origin and quality are a high priority.

Petition for good coffee

Last year, employees of the Nijmegen School of Management started a petition to get good coffee back in the building. The ground floor used to be home to Café C, but the place disappeared over the corona period and did not make a return; it was replaced with a paltry little coffee machine.

‘The large number of signatures got a lot of attention’

Andrej Zaslove, professor of political science and the first signatory of last year’s petition, is very enthusiastic about Blommers’ café: ‘I’ve already had a taste. The coffee was very good, maybe the best in Nijmegen. Thanks to the cosy setup and the suitable background music, the place gives off a city vibe.’

Zaslove doesn’t know how much influence the petition might have had on Blommers’ coming. ‘But the large number of signatures got a lot of attention at the faculty in the short term.’

Entrepreneur Blommers also doesn’t know if the petition helped to get him and his beans at this spot. ‘We were already in talks with the university. Right before corona began, we started a pop-up bar in the Huygens building, until there were red ribbons everywhere and nobody was allowed in.’

After corona he got permission to start a coffee bar in the Elinor Ostrom building. Besides coffee, he also serves cinnamon buns, oatmeal cookies and banana cake, soon to be joined by home-made croissants.

Expanding

The prices are nothing to scoff at: €3,80 for a cardamom cinnamon bun. According to Blommers, this is because all pastries are made in the kitchen at the back of the bar. ‘Our target audience are those coffee lovers who want to take some time for themselves.’ A cappuccino will cost you €2,70, which is still less than what you would pay downtown, according to Blommers. ‘In terms of pricing we’re somewhere between uni and the city.’

Blommers already has an establishment in the Radboudumc and would like to expand to the Grotius building. Blommers Coffee Roasters started out in Haren in 2013, before moving to Nijmegen. The company was founded by brothers Berend and Robert Blommers.

Translated by Jasper Pesch