On weekday evenings, groups of students are often seen nestled into the body-enveloping chairs in Coffee Grounds, caffeinating themselves as they prepare to burn the midnight oil. Yet many of us who use the space are completely unaware of the leaps and bounds between the Coffee Grounds of today and its humble beginnings.
Back in 2007, the beloved hangout for hipsters and prepsters alike was a much smaller operation, little-known outside the tight knit group of loyal patrons. Through collaborative efforts between Dean Briddell (former Dean of Student Life), an SGA task force and the Office of the President, new equipment was purchased, more employees were hired, and quality and quantity of the products was brought to new and improved levels. In the first year after the official restoration (2008-2009), Coffee Grounds hosted a variety of social programs, lecture series, and musical events, solidifying itself as a pillar of the campus community.
However, the social and financial success of the fledgling business was only possible because of a substantial donation from the president to pay the student baristas and managers. Now, with the exit of President Higdon, this generous stipend from the president will be coming to an end, and the café is in great need of a financial re-evaluation.
Thus, Coffee Grounds is trying to reinvent itself this year for the second time in its short history. Under the guidance of Jocelyn Reaves ’15, Operations Manager, and Peter Stoll ’15, Business Manager, the café has changed hours, implemented more sanitation training for employees and expanded its menu. Stoll explained the changes, saying, “There were too many ingrained inefficiencies [in past years]. We are hoping to provide a product and experience that people enjoy and will make Coffee Grounds a stable institution for the College in the future.”
So far the changes implemented this semester have helped to cut down on these inefficiencies, such as limiting hours to those in which the café is more likely to turn a profit, and implementing prices that are both affordable to the customer but provide much needed revenue for the business. However, the Coffee Grounds staff needs to make further changes in order to become a completely self-sufficient business.
In order to do this, Coffee Grounds launched a campus-wide survey last week to assess student, faculty, and staff opinions about the café. Reaves explained the choice of an online survey format, saying, “We wanted to reach out to as many people as possible…to gather a wider range of campus community opinion. By having the survey on ConnQuest we are able to get input from everyone at their own convenience.” In addition to making modifications based on the survey results, the Coffee Grounds staff hopes to purchase a card reader within the next year so that people can use Camel Cash at the café.
So far, Coffee Grounds is having a more profitable semester then they have had in the past, but there is only so much they can do for us. What it comes down to is the community stepping up to support an organization we love and want to see survive. The next time you prepare to hunker down in Coffee Grounds for a six hour study session and don’t purchase anything, I want you to consider some simple questions: would you walk into a Starbucks, sit down, and spend half the day there without buying a drink? I think not. Do you want to support your classmates who are juggling classes, homework, and extra-curricular but still manage to bake you those mini loaves of pumpkin bread you love so much? My guess is yes.
Jeannette Williams, the advisor for Coffee Grounds, described the problem of people using the space without purchasing anything explaining, “A lot of people think Coffee Grounds is a bunch of people just selling some baked goods, but the staff sits down every week and they analyze themselves – what is working and what is not. They operate just like any other professional business does.” Coffee Grounds’ goal, according to Williams, is trying to be completely self-sufficient in the next two to three years, but they can’t get there without our support. “The goal isn’t to undermine other business on campus,” said Williams, “Coffee Grounds just wants to survive on campus.”
With this said, Coffee Grounds needs us. By the time we graduate, most of us will have attended a lecture, enjoyed a musical event, or just spent a few hours chatting with friends in this warm alcove of KB. So next time you find yourselves in Coffee Grounds, I encourage you to invest in this student run business that has become such a beloved fixture on our campus. Coffee Grounds is a community space – it is ours to use, and ours to sustain.
The survey can be found on the Coffee Grounds homepage on ConnQuest and will be available for the next month. Participants will be entered into a raffle for five free coffees. •
