NEWS
Union to install new brew shop
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Also by Ken Harris:
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- Forum discusses Union renovation (November 10, 2005)
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by Ken Harris
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Memorial Union announced Tuesday it will soon open a Peet’s
Coffee and Tea in the vacant space formerly occupied by STA Travel.
The space has been empty since STA Travel moved all its
operations to its location at 429 State St.
According to Carl Korz, assistant director of food service
for the Union, a committee formed for the project sent out surveys “to find out
what students were looking for in a coffeehouse.”
About 3,000 responses concluded that students preferred a
coffeehouse providing organic and fair trade coffee, a comfortable environment
and a thorough training process for its employees.
According to a statement by the Union, about half a dozen
coffee shops and brewers submitted requests for information regarding the open
slot for a coffeehouse. The Union only responded to the few vendors it believed
could properly provide the desired services.
The committee chose Peet’s because it best fit all the
student criteria while also serving a high quality product. Korz said the
Peet’s organization specializes in appealing to college students and provided
the most flexibility with Union operations.
“It’s a good fit for the Memorial Union,” Korz said.
Peet’s Coffee and Tea is based in Berkeley, Calif. The
gourmet coffee provider was founded in 1966 and is known for its
environmentally friendly buildings and business practices. There are currently
116 locations nationwide, including many on college campuses like UC-Berkeley.
“They have a really good track record of customer
satisfaction, especially among the student base,” Korz said. “They’re really
into the environment.”
The coffeehouse is expected to be open by the start of the
fall 2008 semester.
Korz said the opening would come just in time for students
to really enjoy their beverages on the terrace that adjoins the shop.
According to the statement, Memorial Union will run the
coffee shop, while Peet’s will design the interior and train the workers.
Alhough a few full-time workers may be hired, Korz said the
majority of the workforce will be students. He added the coffee shop could
employ as many as 30.
The contract with Peet’s will be evaluated after five years,
according to the statement from the Union.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 5:48am):
the picture shows the wrong area. that is the old travel center, not the STA travel area. STA was down on the first floor.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 8:36am):
Peet's!!! YES!
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 1:56pm):
Screw Peet's. It is only second in size to Starbucks. Does nobody realize that this is another UW sell out to corporate America because management is LAZY? I enjoy getting a coffee from the WI Union (the Wisconsin Union Blend) and sitting in a cozy area. Why the hell doesn't the union just open up a nice seating area and sell its traditional coffee. I know people would use the space.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 4:22pm):
just because a corporate place comes to Madison, doesn't mean that businesses decrease sales, they actual increase, as seen by Starbucks being here, can anyone mention a coffeehouse that has closed on State Street because of Starbucks? The question is what is the Union thinking getting a coffeehouse? Spend that many on some decent food, come on.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 4:48pm):
Yes, and they will serving "Seattle's Best" at another UW Union run shop across campus. I guess Wisconsin cofffee isn't good enough for them, even though it's roasted in town the same day or week, and shipped across the country in a truck. Maybe we can get cheaper ice cream from New York or Calif. too, Babcock Hall is too pricey for them. Wait, maybe we can get a higher caliber of student elsewhere too, the new headlines will read" UW Madison Union to move to Berkely CA."
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 4:54pm):
And did you notice they stopped serving soup w/ soup spoons last year? "We now provide a teaspoon with a bigger handle for your soup" While I have been a member, they have closed the woman's lounge, taken out the free local phones, closed the games room for now, lost all of their Stifskeller staff due to a walkout, turned every great space in the building into an office, and continue to use under paid student staff and lay off LTE's instead of promoting them to staff. This is not "my" student union, this seems to be how someone would run a prison.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 5:00pm):
if they take away the chili...what am i going to do?!
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 9:06pm):
um...Peets makes their own coffee. They don't serve Seattle's best.
Anonymous (February 1, 2008 @ 6:05pm):
it's about time we had a decent coffee shop in our Union. i would try to order an espresso drink and half the time it was not even close to a real coffee shop, so this is probably an improvement.
Seeing as how most coffee isn't grown in Kenosha or other Wisconsin locales, i don't think the argument about getting it from elsewhere is a huge issue as long as you are giving thought to fair-trade and organic. Besides,we might as well get our hallowed ice cream from somewhere else if the secret ingredient is pork gelatin--who does that? I can't wait to try some brat-fudge ripple this summer.
Regarding the post with the free-local-phone service, soup spoon, ladies lounge prison fetish...umm, yeah... I got nothing...
Anonymous (February 4, 2008 @ 5:44am):
I do believe it was the floods that closed the games room.
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