Along with the addition of weekly special drinks, the beloved Beans Cafe is expanding their menu to include their new event, Open Mic Night.

The student-run coffee shop has been a hub for student collaboration since it opened, hosting student organizations, providing drinks for the Burwell Career Center and being a great spot for students to study or hang out.

The cafe has facilitated this welcoming vibe with their weekly event Beans After Dark (BAD). This event serves weekly cocktails and offers fun trivia for customers to partake in.

Despite the efforts of Beans staff, the afternoon hours are not normally busy. To combat this, Beans is reintroducing Open Mic Night, occurring every Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., in hopes of drawing in a larger crowd during this time.

“Our goal is to create a welcoming space where musicians, whether professionals or playing just for fun, can do what they love and feel supported,” said Event and Sales Manager Kaia Sweet.

Beans Open Mic Night is an opportunity for DU’s musicians to share their talents. During their set, artists will play for 15-30 minutes and can promote their social media and streaming platforms. They also have the option to display their Venmo and accept tips.

Beans has previously hosted Open Mic Nights, both independently and in collaboration with KXDU. However, the cafe hopes to make this event a recurring part of the calendar.

“My hope for the future of this event is to have enough musician sign-ups to keep Open Mic Nights going regularly and enough community interest to ensure great crowds for our performers. As the event grows, I’d love to partner with returning musicians and find creative ways to make each Open Mic Night unique and exciting,” said Sweet.

Currently, the event will take place on the cafe’s patio. During the event, the cafe will offer their full coffee, food and BAD menu with cocktails, beer and wine.

Although the cafe has yet to host their first Open Mic Night, they have seen high levels of interest in the past and student groups have already reached out to secure their spot on stage.

Musicians, providing their own equipment, can sign-up for Open Mic Nights through the cafe’s Instagram. The free sign up allows any student group to perform, which is not always an accessible opportunity. Some performances may be from Beans’ very own staff.

Following the first event, Sweet intends to discuss what worked well and what can be improved.

“I really value feedback from our community and musicians, and I think most of the changes we make will come directly from their input,” said Sweet.

Beans’ first Open Mic Night will take place on Oct. 23 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.