BU Campus Welcomes Businesses

Commonwealth Avenue has become home to several new student-friendly businesses over the last couple of months, with offerings from organic coffee to oysters. There’s something for every palate and every wallet. 

Blue State Coffee 
957 Commonwealth Avenue
Located in West Campus, Blue State Coffee offers fair-traded, organic coffee for those who also like to support progressive causes. Founded bya Connecticut family, this small coffee chain offers nearly a dozen organically grown brews, teas, and simple baked goods. Some favorites are the cortado, a blend of coffee and warm milk, and the cold-brew, a coffee drink that takes hours to prepare.

Blue State Coffee is community-oriented. Each quarter, the company donates 5 percent of sales to worthwhile causes. Customers vote on how the funds should be allocated, and Blue State donates a percentage of each quarter’s funds based on the voting. Each store supports different local organizations. Currently, the Comm Ave store helps to support the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Cambridge Women’s Center, the Boston Natural Areas Network, and the Match Charter School.

Store hours are 7 a.m. to midnight during the week and 8 a.m. to midnight on weekends.

Scoozi
580 Commonwealth Avenue
This Newbury Street eatery, with its wide variety of paninis, salads, and other Italian dishes at affordable prices, has found its way to the BU campus. Scoozi, which has been a bit slow to catch on with students, has been open for six months and is a great place for “comfort food,” says managing partner Altug Altindag.

The self-proclaimed gourmet pizzeria and sandwich bar offers a multitude of promotions for those on a tight budget. Students showing a student ID can purchase their choice of panini, drink, and chips for $6.95 for lunch takeout, or get a 10 percent discount when eating in on weekdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. For those over 21, Scoozi holds a college night every Tuesday with $2 draft beer.

Kathy Kourkoulos, assistant manager at Sal’s Pizza, 714 Comm. Ave., gives out free slices of pizza. Photo by Brianna Healy (COM’12)

Sal’s Pizza 
714 Commonwealth Avenue
New Yorkers rejoice. New England–based Sal’s Pizza now offers great New York–style pizza on campus at affordable prices. Sal’s slices are huge—each is a quarter of their ample pies, which come in 20 varieties. They also offer a signature calzone, dubbed Salzone.

The newly opened Sal’s current special for students with a BU ID is a slice of cheese pizza and a 20-ounce soda for $3.99. Close to Warren Towers, Sal’s is a great place to grab a slice or two on the go, but don’t plan to linger. The store offers no seating.

Housed in the Hotel Commonwealth, Island Creek Oyster Bar is set to open later this month. Photo by Tom Vellner (COM’13)

Island Creek Oyster Bar 
500 Commonwealth Avenue
Hotel Commonwealth’s newest establishment, Island Creek Oyster Bar, opens at the end of October, promising the style and quality of its sister store, the popular Eastern Standard.

The restaurant will offer up to 18 different types of oysters, including Hog Island oysters from San Francisco and Olympia oysters from Washington state, says general manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli.

Beatrice Gilbert (CGS’13) and Brittany Bovaird (CGS’13) (right) take a look atthe wide costume selection at Party Favors. Photo by Tom Vellner (COM’13)

Party Favors 
1048 Commonwealth Avenue
The popular bakery and party-needs store based in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner has opened a pop-up store on campus just in time for Halloween. The store offers everything for your ghoulish needs, including packaged costumes, masks, makeup, and all manner of goodies. Party Favors will hold $2 cupcake decorating parties and themed nights every Thursday until Halloween, when the store closes.

Nicole Rojas can be reached at nrojas@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter at @nrojas0131.