DLE MEMBER NICK RUSSO BREWS COFFEE FROM A BIKE

DLE Programming Committee member Nick Russo loves to ride his bike. He pedals through all four seasons in his western Massachusetts community–yes, even during chilly winter days. Nick also is a coffee enthusiast, particularly of slow brews, double shot espressos and frothy lattes.

With business ideas spinning in his head for more than a year, Nick combined his passions, tapped his personal savings and launched this month Crosswalk Coffee in his Pittsfield, MA, his home and work base. This pedal propelled coffee cart moves around various locations in the downtown business community capturing inquisitive looks and enthusiastic patrons ready to experiment with the taste java served up from a bike.

“The coffee bike has a built-in refrigerator so I can have milk and ice on-hand for all different kinds of drinks. Water tanks inside feed to the sink where I can keep my kettles filled with hot water for brewing. I want everything to be as human-powered and handmade as possible, so I use pour-over setups for brewing coffee and a lever-pulled espresso machine,” points out Nick.

Committed to his full-time job as a senior transportation planner at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Nick serves up brews several days a week from 7-9 AM before heading into his office. Berkshire-based DLE members can catch Nick on Friday mornings outside of the DLE office at 100 North Street (in Dunham Square) and on Saturday mornings at the Pittsfield Farmer’s Market on the Pittsfield Commons.

Nick serving up a brew to fellow DLE member Danielle Sanders and dog Milo

A fresh latte served by Nick

Nick serving up coffee to customers on North Street in downtown Pittsfield (MA)