Atticus King
Two rows of mugs sit patiently on The Commons' Mug Club Shelf awaiting for their next customer.
Upon entering The Commons, students’ soft tapping of keys late into the night intermingle with the crackling of the fireplace. Old tables and chairs are illuminated by the flames–an 8 p.m. closing time is a rarity for a local cafe. Found in one of the oldest structures in Bend and built of volcanic tuff stone and ponderosa pine timber, sustainability is nothing new for The Commons. The Mug Club, however, is.
Nestled on the windowsill near the ordering counter a collection of reusable mugs greet customers, adorned with rainbow stickers boasting their assigned numbers. They are not just any ordinary grouping of cups, they are the Mug Club.
“It operates nearly identical to the mini-library systems you see in various little neighborhoods all over Bend,” said Natalie Robin, manager of The Commons and founder of the program. Robin and the cafe’s owner, Dan Baumann, donated the first set of mugs to the club and her passion for generating anti-waste products and habits inspired it.
“The Commons is already instilled with a mission to put life into old things by continuing to use them in every functional way. It seemed fitting to embellish a little corner of our space with a reusable travel-mug station,” said Robin.
The donation-based honor system is a new fixture in the coffee shop, which started on its endeavor in September of 2025. Easy to utilize, all their customers need to do is pick a mug off the shelf, have the staff take note of their name and the cups’ number, then bring it back when they are able. Met with local support, it has been well received by the community.
“I work right across the alley, so I grab my coffee and then come back after my shift .… They sanitize in between uses and you just bring it back,” said a downtown worker returning a mug at the end of the night.
A variety of insulated cups to suit temperatures of any drink are offered. The Mug Club is far from The Commons’ first effort to combat waste; furnished and adorned with second hand items, sustainability has even been cemented into the very structure of the bungalow-style house that it calls home.
“In the 90’s the house was to be torn down to make room for additional parking off Brooks Alley,” said Vanessa Ivey, the Manager of the Deschutes Historical Museum. “However, through local community input and fundraising, the building was saved. It was moved 90 feet south of its original construction site.”
As of 2007, the structure sits on the National Register of Historic Places.
“My hope is for people to feel inspired to participate in this anti-waste movement,” Robin said. “Whether that’s by using the mug library, bringing their own mug, or asking for one of our house mugs to enjoy at the cafe. The goal is to motivate the community to forgo a few simple high waste yielding conveniences for the sake of our planet.”
The Mug Club, located at 875 NW Brooks St, Bend, OR 97703 is accepting donations and has dreams of growing and continuing the tradition of sustainability at The Commons.