Are you still disappointed that the Joyce Cummings Center Starbucks disappeared or constantly angry that The Sink line STILL is not getting any shorter during your 12–1:15 p.m. lunch break? Do not fear: Just minutes away from campus lies a new(ish) café, The Buzzin’ Bean, serving homemade pastries, entrees and drinks.
In May, Lexington native Jayashree Venkataraman opened The Buzzin’ Bean, located at 237 Holland St. in Teele Square. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, this coffee shop could be your new home to fill your caffeine fix or comfort food craving. Tufts students even get a 10% off discount on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a student ID.
For Venkataraman, the business began with a personal vision inspired by her son, who has autism. She wanted to create a welcoming place where children with special needs could gain experience with practical and everyday activities. For individuals with autism, social interactions can sometimes pose stress and difficulty.
“We wanted to start a small café where we could have some special needs kids come [and] practice a lot of their other skills like buying something, [making] exchanges and learning the money skills,” Venkataraman said. “There are so many skills which we can teach the kids, but exposure is very important for them, just not being at home.”
For children with autism, learning money-management skills and even ordering from a counter is important and can serve as empowerment. Venkataraman also hopes to employ more children with autism, in addition to her son, so they too can get experience interacting with more people and enjoy a work environment (i.e., helping behind the register, stocking the refrigerator and preparing foods for recipes).
Venkataraman also discussed the importance of an inclusive environment and a place where children with social differences can feel welcome.
“We have told many parents: Please bring your kids out more in the community and that this place is safe. … It’s okay if they run around or do something, everyone will get used to them,” Venkataraman said.
Ariadna Torras, a junior at Tufts studying environmental studies and community health, is a barista at The Buzzin’ Bean. She loves the work environment and the sense of community it provides, both with her coworkers and café customers. Even with no café experience, Torras was interested in working at The Buzzin’ Bean.
“[Venkataraman] hired me even though I had zero barista experience, but was interested in learning. A lot of cafés don’t really take baristas who don’t have prior experience. So that was great, because she was like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll teach you everything,’” Torras said.
Torras started working at the café two months ago but already has “regulars” who come in every week.
“It’s very open to the general Somerville community. I’ve met a lot of people, and there’s people who come every Friday or every Saturday,” Torras said. “I actually recently met someone … from the same town my parents are from [in Barcelona], so it was really nice to be able to speak to them in Catalan.”
Torras is also a dancer in Sarabande, and at their performance a couple of weeks ago, Venkataraman and a few of Torras’ other coworkers came to support her, highlighting the tight-knit community that the café fosters.
“When I offered them tickets to the show they were super eager to come,” Torras wrote in a message to the Daily. “They closed the shop 30 minutes early just to come to the show which just meant so much to me.”
Charlotte Ravage, another junior at Tufts, loves The Buzzin’ Bean for the ambiance and the drinks.
“It’s a really cute café, and it’s always the perfect volume. I love to do work there,” Ravage said. “Tasty and Tamper, I feel like are always really busy, and this place, sometimes it’s really busy, but it’s often quieter, especially in the morning. It’s nice to have somewhere new.”
She also highlighted the variety of beverages on the menu.
“I got a strawberry matcha the last time I went; usually [I get] coffee,” she said.
Venkataraman noted that the café is not just coffee, tea and pastries but that the menu also offers many unique meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food menu features some South Asian staples, as well as unique fusions of classic Indian dishes with other cuisines like the Tandoori Cauliflower Taco and the Peri Peri Paneer Quesadilla.
“There’s a lot of South Asian food, vegetarian foods. It’s not restricted only to basic sandwiches and grilled cheese and the coffees, we have a lot of other varieties too,” Venkataraman said. “Finding good vegetarian food is so tough here, so we just wanted to … get flavors from Indian origin, but also use the food which people are used to and mixing [South Asian dishes] up with that and seeing how it comes [out].”
Venkataraman also discussed the importance of creating opportunities for young adults with autism to find belonging at the café and in life.
“It’s not only about the employment, but the experience of just being together,” Venkataraman said. “It’s [also about] being loved in a place. I think accepting the way [young adults with autism] are is very important.”
On the wall of The Buzzin’ Bean is a mural by local artist Andrea Krieg that reads: “We are all Stars and We deserve to Shine,” highlighting the importance of inclusion.
Growing up with autism can be very difficult, and as a spectrum disorder, people’s functioning can be drastically different across diagnoses. According to Boston Children’s Hospital’s Autism Spectrum Center, the transition to adulthood for individuals with autism is often marked at 22 years old, which is when people with autism are considered too old for Individualized Education Programs and school-based therapies. They must leave special education and transition into the adult service system organized at the state level by the Department of Developmental Services. Consequently, many essential services become expensive, selective and not guaranteed. Notably, Venkataraman’s son just turned 18.
“Until 22, they are taken care of very well by the system, but after 22, there is not much for them to do,” Venkataraman said.
The Buzzin’ Bean is a great place for kids to be kids, humans to be humans, regardless of a learning difference. There is even a large stack of board games in the corner for patrons to enjoy playing.
“There are a couple volunteers who come and do more board game nights with special needs kids ... and build social relationships,” Venkataraman said.
Venkataraman wants The Buzzin’ Bean to be a café that interacts with the community. For instance, the café recently collaborated with 3LPlace, an organization that aims to support neurodiverse young adults with autism and developmental disabilities to find connection and empowerment.
“When I came here, I saw 3LPlace … somehow that felt like a sign we need to open here,” Venkataraman said.
Torras further highlighted the importance of such collaborations.
“The other day, a few young adults came in … [who] go to [3LPlace],” Torras said. “They were learning how to pay for the food and drinks and what change they needed. … I think it’s really important that they get the chance to do that … in a comfortable space.”
Located just a 15-minute walk from the Mayer Campus Center, The Buzzin’ Bean is a perfect off-campus excursion. So, if neither Tasty Cafe & Kitchen, Tamper Cafe nor The Sink are calling your name, definitely try this café and support a local small business. You can often find a deal (or two) from @buzzin_bean on Instagram.
