From Sketch to Cafe: Community Artists Fill Our Walls
An art gallery with a coffee bar inside — that’s our vision for every Saxbys cafe.
That’s why we empower local artists to make the walls of Saxbys their personal canvases. Whether it’s a graffiti mural, a photography installation or a collection of paintings, all our art is locally sourced. Who needs a drab stock image when you can have custom artwork made by someone who grabs their morning coffee at the same cafe? It’s a no brainer.
“We never want two Saxbys cafes to look the same,” says Saxbys CEO Nick Bayer. “Sure, the hard assets like tables, chairs and millwork are critical components, but the custom, one-of-a-kind items are the true difference makers. People always talk about the artwork.”
Tyler School of Art grad, Matt Tomezsko, installing his art piece at our cafe in Temple University’s Speakman Hall.
Cafe aesthetics are important, but fostering entrepreneurship is the real reason we’re so passionate about local art. In fact, supporting entrepreneurs is a core mission of our business. It’s what drove us to create our pioneering Experiential Learning Program which makes college students the CEOs of individual cafes. It’s the same passion that drives us to let artists showcase and sell their work in our cafes.
“Art is just another form of entrepreneurship,” says Nick. “We look at entrepreneurship not only as the creation of a business. That’s a simple, finite definition. It’s so much bigger. It’s the willingness and capability to take risks, do something different and build something productive.”
Each installation at Saxbys is a rotating, evolving exhibit. As the installations come and go, hundreds of guests are exposed to up-and-coming artists right in their backyards.
On college campuses, it’s been particularly rewarding — and students have really responded.
“Oftentimes, the students don’t even realize their classmates created the art hanging on the walls. But when they peel back the next layer of the onion and realize it was their classmate, it’s just that much cooler,” says Nick.
Pop artist Seek One brought his combination of photography, graffiti and street style to our cafe at 20th and Walnut Sts in Philadelphia. Photo: @seekoneart on Instagram.
At our original Temple University cafe — located at 1902 Liacouras Walk — an 8 foot by 6 foot wall has become a showcase for students at the university’s Tyler School of Art. Every six months, a new artist paints their own mural. Before it’s replaced, it gets photographed and transformed into a tile for the bathroom. Soon, the bathroom will be a mosaic of all the different art featured over the years. That way, it gets to live on.
The whole process is leading to real sales opportunities for the artists. In some cases, sales were so strong that artists had to bring in extra pieces because the originals sold so quickly.
“I remember a cafe team member telling me ‘we can’t keep art on the wall because people keep buying it,” says Nick. “That’s real validation for a young artist.”
Saxbys also offers each artist the chance to host a gallery night if they’re interested. It’s a chance for them to show off their work to the community and celebrate the partnership.
“I remember two young women who curated the art on the cafe walls. Their gallery night was awesome. They were so proud,” Nick says.“Their families were there, friends were there. Watching them show off their art in the middle of Penn’s campus in the middle of Philadelphia was incredible. It made me really proud.”
Saxbys is looking for student artists right now for many of its cafes, including Penn State, West Chester and Saint Joseph’s. Interested in sharing your work? Email us at Marketing@SaxbysCoffee.com. Make sure you mention the cafe name in the subject line!