To help ease the pain of the University faculty and staff members on their first mandatory unpaid day, Red Eye Coffee, will be hosting “Furlough Freebie” Friday.

Gregg Carey, owner of Red Eye Coffee, decided to hold the event because he wanted to do something for the University’s faculty and staff.

“I just thought it really sucks that all these people are out of work without any pay,” Carey said.

Carey said in this economy, things are tight and tough for everybody, and with the six upcoming furlough days set by the Board of Regents, nothing is getting easier for University faculty members.

He said that made him decide to offer a free cup of the coffee to faculty and staff members with a valid UGA ID on the furlough days that the shop will be open.

Carey said his motives are more than empathetic, noting that from a marketing perspective, he is trying to bring in some steady business as well.

“I’m just trying to get the name out there, and get people to come check out the coffee shop,” Carey said. “Hopefully they’ll like it.”

There is something to like about Red Eye too. It is not the next Starbucks, nor is it buying into the fads of so many coffee shops today.

Instead, Carey created the coffee shop less than a year ago with personality, passion and a great product in mind.

Red Eye Coffee offers coffee brewed by the cup. It takes a few extra minutes for the coffee order, but the result is a unique, fresh cup of coffee.

“You will not find drive-through windows and five-gallon coffee urns at Red Eye,” Carey said.

Despite its charm and one-on-one attention, Carey does not know how well his Furlough Freebie day will be received. “With Georgia-Florida, and fall break, it is hard to tell if it will take off,” he said.