Last year, local business owners opened the first Biggby Coffee in the city of Albion. This week, the college announced its plans to open a Starbucks Coffee for the 2014-15 academic year.
Starting late this May, renovations will begin in efforts to turn the Read Between the Grinds café, located in the Stockwell-Mudd library, into a Starbucks Coffee.
“I’m so excited,” said Sally Smith, Arendalle sophomore. “Starbucks is my favorite. I’m going to go there every day.”
The Starbucks will feature their traditional menu of beverages and pastries while accepting Briton Bucks for student convenience, in addition to all major credit cards.
“We wanted to make sure the Starbucks would be easily accessible to all students,” said Lavid Dauffer, Albion dining services manager.
The new Starbucks will offer more seating availability in addition to longer hours of operation compared to Read Between the Grinds.
“Recent surveys of Albion students have shown that they want their library coffee shop to be open longer,” Dauffer said. “We are trying to improve the quality of the coffee experience from all angles.”
Dauffer also explained that Starbucks has to meet a certain hour requirement established by their headquarters. Finalized hours for the Albion location will be posted to the dining services page on the Albion College website.
The Starbucks hiring team has also agreed to employ the current Read Between the Grinds employees to the new Albion location. Albion resident Cathie Grounds has been working at Read Between the Grinds for 12 years. She is very excited about the change.
“I think this will be great,” Grounds said. “I love the atmosphere here at the college. I’m glad I was offered a new position that still allows me to interact with Albion students.”
The Starbucks is expected to be open and ready for full operation by the time classes start in September. Check the Albion website for more information and a chance to win a $15 gift card for credit to the Albion College location.
Photo by Alex Carey
Leave a Reply