Courtesy of Sophie Mulvihill ’26
The two student-run coffee shops on campus announced last semester they would be merging operations, under the new brand Conn Coffee. The decision was made to ensure both shops could continue operating successfully, and went into effect at the beginning of this semester.
The Coffee Grounds-Coffee Closet merger was announced at the December 2 SGA General Assembly by the PR Managers and Jeannette Williams, Director of Student Engagement. This decision was made by the management staff of each shop along with Williams. The Office of Student Engagement initially proposed the merger, and over the fall semester the two shops worked together to make it happen.
Coffee Grounds and Coffee Closet are financially independent from the College, meaning they pay for supplies, payroll and repairs. Kazi Stanton-Thomas ‘26, PR manager for Coffee Closet explained that they want to be able to “want to run as a successful small business,” but that has not been feasible with rising costs, and the small campus population. In order to “ensure that these two spaces continue to exist on campus, without being financially unsuccessful,” Stanton-Thomas said that they have to “find more ways to make money.” By combining operations and money this endeavor will be cost-saving.
Coffee Grounds Operations Managers Emily Charest ‘26 and Iman Shaikh ‘26 explained more of the reasoning behind the merger. This fall Coffee Grounds began the semester with much less money than anticipated, due to balancing that occurred over the summer. Because of that, a decision had to be made to keep the shop open. Shaikh emphasized how the “main goal is to keep these shops as a student run space, because it is such a collaborative opportunity.” They both talked about how this was the best plan in order to keep these spaces open. Shaikh said she was “initially confused about what it would look like, but it was easy to work with Coffee Closet and figure it all out” and that they are all on the same page: “we don’t want the shops to close.”
In 2024 Dining Dollars stopped being accepted at the shops, and are now only usable at Chartwells run locations, due to their contract with the College. This may have played a role in there being less business at the shops. Shaikh explained “I think that as college students a lot of us are thinking about what we’re spending and where we’re spending it. Dining Dollars was one of the more used forms of payment. I think that losing that did reduce for a little bit.” Also, “Dining Dollars would get people into the shop and then they’d be hooked.” For this reason, the shops make sure to sell different things from Chartwells.
Student employees will now work at both shops, there will be one consolidated menu, and the operating hours have been shortened. The consolidated menu includes the specials and baked goods. In order to make decisions to consolidate the menu, they tracked what customers ordered each day. This meant eliminating certain offerings, especially infrequently ordered syrups, based on the numbers. They also reevaluated their operating hours, Shaikh said, “if we aren’t selling anything after 5 o’clock we probably shouldn’t be open.” Now both shops will be open from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Stanton-Thomas noted that the new hours would align with general coffee shop industry standards. Despite menu consolidation, the different aesthetics of each shop will remain the same.
There was also a 40% reduction in staff following the merger. Eli Craddock ‘26, PR manager for Coffee Grounds, explained that employment decisions were holistically based on “how well they’ve been doing not only as a barista but at following the rules set out by the shops.” The 40% included students studying abroad in the spring semester and any December graduates. Some employees were frustrated at not knowing until December whether or not they would have a job the next semester. According to one, the merger “caught everyone pretty off guard because it happened in the middle of the semester,” and “people are thinking of ways to find jobs, especially those who don’t have work study.” Both shops have been moving to only hire work-study eligible students in recent years, as they only pay a portion of those wages.
One employee at Coffee Closet who asked not to be named said though they were not excited about the changes, it is “better to have both shops open than closing one,” and the decision “allows for more community on campus.” Coffee Closet baker Adriana Manzano ‘28 mentioned how the shops can be safe spaces for different groups on campus, so both “Closet and Grounds being open is really important.”
Since their inception each shop has been student-managed, and in order to maintain this status it became evident that a change had to be made. The management teams of both shops emphasized the importance of both this model of student leadership, and the availability of third spaces for students to spend time in. Stanton-Thomas said “I’ve never really thought there was much difference between Coffee Closet and Coffee Grounds,” as they both serve the students in the same way. Their locations on opposite ends of campus are a part of this, as they benefit as many people as possible. Therefore, they said it “makes a lot of sense to have the same menu, pricing, and experience.”
“Coffee Grounds and Coffee Closet are homegrown” said Williams, “from their core and their very beginnings student-run.” “We want it to succeed, we want it to exist on campus, but it has to be profitable,” therefore she asked students too “please buy things when you’re in the shop.” Stanton-Thomas said, “if you want these spaces to continue existing you have to support them. Try to buy something, it really helps us stay afloat.” Charest emphasized that the shops “rely on the student engagement aspect to make this work, even though we are merging there is still a long way to go to solidify us as a business.”
On February 9, Dean of Students Victor Arcelus sent out a campus email announcing that the third on-campus coffee shop, Blue Camel, located in Shain Library, would transition to become student run under Conn Coffee. Currently, Blue Camel is run by Lorelei Frantz, who has operated the cafe since 2004. Conn Coffee managers were reportedly informed of this change the week before the campus was notified.
Coffee Grounds, which is currently operated out of Katherine Blunt House, will transition to the space previously operated by Blue Camel in Shain Library, which Dean Arcelus described as a “high-traffic location.” Since the current Coffee Grounds space will no longer be a coffee shop beginning in the fall semester, it will intermittently serve as a common study space for students, while Associate Dean of Student Life Geoff Norbert develops a proposal to repurpose the space as an additional community kitchen, which could also be used as a teaching kitchen. Though students voiced a variety of questions and opinions about these changes, and the shift in locations, the Conn Coffee model projects a promising longevity for the student-run businesses so valued by the campus community.
