Aku | Small Format
I got introduced to this place as a sophomore at Brown — I started coming here because I wanted to meet queer people who are not my age and can provide me a little bit more of a robust perspective, just because I came from Texas. It’s a harder thing to find [there], whereas here, I noticed there’s a lot of queer people, but I didn’t always want to meet people in the nightlife scene. I found that those relationships could sometimes be fraught, and so I was really intrigued in what this place was doing differently.
Growing up, I was like, “Oh, I’d love to be maybe a barista someday.” But being in front of the counter versus behind the counter is definitely different. Providence is small — it’s something you always hear, but you feel it a little bit more when you’re running a small cafe and you’re running into the same people every week. It’s a part of their routine, and it’s also part of your routine.
I think [working here has] pushed me to lean more into the uncomfortability of forming relationships. I’ve come to be good friends with some of my regulars, which is really lovely and an unexpected perk. I think this place has pushed me to try to find other niches and communities that I can be involved in while I’m still in Providence, because there’s such a vibrant community here. But I think it can also still be easy to kind of silo yourself, especially if you attend Brown. So I was really big on challenging myself to move outside of that, and this place was a large part of that.
Michelle Bi studies English and International & Public Affairs at Brown University. On campus, she writes for The Brown Daily Herald and is involved in social science research. She grew up in Ventura County, CA and enjoys playing guitar and crossword puzzles.
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