BRED Gourmet launches ‘Work from BRED’
For $20, students can choose from two sliders or a sandwich
Jada Ogueh–The Tech
Jada Ogueh–The Tech
★★★★☆
BRED Gourmet
Caribbean/Cajun, $$
730 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Monday 11:30 a.m.–8 p.m.
Tuesday to Wednesday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.
Thursday to Friday 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.
Saturday 4 p.m.–10 p.m.
Closed Sunday
BRED Gourmet, a Caribbean and Cajun-inspired restaurant serving “comfort food” as described by chef and owner Tambo Barrow, has recently launched “Work from BRED” to encourage “students, remote workers, and young professionals” to dine and study in the space.
Work from BRED
This new initiative is ordinarily $22 per person and discounted to $20 with a valid student ID, and it includes a choice of two sliders or a full-size sandwich with hand-cut fries and refillable coffee, tea, and fountain drinks.
I visited on Friday, Oct. 16 after classes from 5:10 p.m. to 7 p.m. to test out the menu, interview Barrow, and finish my essay for 21L.032 Afrofuturism, Magical Realism, and Other Otherwise Worlds.
I ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Jerk Chicken sliders with a side of sweet potato fries. The bun on both was very delicious and not too dense. The fried chicken was pretty good, although I would have liked it to be a tad more crispy. It was covered in a sweet tomato jam that elevated the taste. The jerk chicken was okay; it was a smidge dry and flavorwise wasn’t too exciting, but the plantain was deliciously sweet and soft. The fries were nice but were a little soggy by the time I got to them. Overall, I enjoyed parts of the meal, but its portion was on the smaller side for $20. The bottomless drink options may compensate for that, but since I only got water to drink, I couldn’t speak to that aspect.
The ambience of the location shines when the sun goes down; cozy table lights come out and the music provides a nice, chill vibe.
Barrow’s story
In 2015, Barrow founded BRED Gourmet in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester, Boston. After quitting his insurance job, he pursued opening a restaurant with burgers and sandwiches despite no previous experience. The space he settled on was a former barbeque joint, and Barrow decided to repurpose the smoker for cooking burgers after almost selling it for $10,000.
“People noticed the difference in the flavor,” he said in a sit-down interview with me.
After starting a location in Dry Dock Avenue in Seaport that didn’t perform well, Barrow opened a new location in Kendall Square that took off after an interview with Good Morning America. The 730 Main Street location has been facing foot traffic issues. Originally, the building was patronized by members of the MIT community, but a 2024 deal between MIT and BioMed Realty emptied out the upstairs building. Since then, Barrow has been conducting grassroots marketing to draw in business.
Their new focus is college students, especially ones attending MIT and Harvard. This direction is what inspired Work from BRED — an attempt to make the space as inviting as possible. Work from BRED is still in its testing phase.
“We’re not in the business of trying to be cheap with it,” Barrow said when asked about the price, “but we want people to come here and actually get a meal that can fuel them to actually get work done.”
Work from BRED runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., which is often the peak time for classes and extracurriculars. I am often in classes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and have work from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. When pointing that out, Barrow did acknowledge the future possibility of extending the hours.
A new location in Faneuil Hall is set to open next month.