The "We Proudly Serve Starbucks" sign that hangs over the entrance to the Blink, Tuesday November 16, 2023. Photo taken by Nat Brown/Bagpipe.
In the September 28 issue of The Bagpipe, an article by Helen Shackelford titled “Bring Local Coffee to the Blink” expressed a disdain for the “familiar and ubiquitous” Starbucks coffee drinks offered on campus. Shackelford made the case that the college should endeavor to “strengthen connections to our local community” by providing locally roasted “excellent coffee drinks” in the Blink.
Ms. Shackelford’s opinion was an intriguing one to me. I work at a local coffee shop and love to spend my time exploring the chemical intricacies and delicate rituals of brewing and enjoying coffee drinks. Starbucks always seemed obtuse to my tastes, at best a means of quick, dark-roasted caffeination when the Great Hall doors were closed, barring access to the tall, handsome vats of drip-brewed propellant within.
While I harbor a special haven in my heart for a burned, blackened, comforting (and cheap) cup of joe, I find myself becoming more of a coffee snob the more brewing paraphernalia I accumulate in my dorm room. All this to say, when Ms. Shackelford suggested the Blink consider a partnership with a local roaster, my interest was piqued.
In an effort to understand why the Blink sells Starbucks coffee, I tracked down the head honcho of the Blink operations, Sean Cauley. Cauley has been enthusiastically managing the Blink’s operations for close to two years, during which it has transitioned from a simple, sleepy study spot to a high-energy, thrumming hub of social networking, promising nostalgic head-bopping tunes, a diverse menu, and even a small library stocked with (really rather terrible) devotional booklets and the entire Hunger Games trilogy. But no local coffee—why?
According to Cauley, “four years ago is when the college switched to Starbucks … Creative Dining actually did not pick Starbucks.” More than just being the status quo for Creative Dining staff when they took over in 2020, Starbucks also has other benefits: “Brand recognition is something that Starbucks is bringing to the table,” says Cauley. “That’s a major selling point for the college.”
When it comes to a potential switch to local coffee, Cauley emphasizes that “everything that we do at the Blink is done with the students in mind. This is your guys’ space, and you just trust me to run it … but there's also limits.” While Cauley confesses that he has been tentatively thinking about replacing the current Starbucks options with a local coffee supplier for around a year, he also acknowledges the difficulties in such a significant change: “there's politics involved in it too. It's pleasing you guys, but we also have the board (to consider)."
Thankfully for me and others who love both good coffee and supporting local businesses, that’s not the end of the story. As my conversation with Cauley concluded, he emphasized the importance of the student body’s voice as Creative Dining endeavors to provide a quality experience: “We make no promises, but we are here to serve the student body and are always open to hearing your opinions and suggestions.” So if you want local coffee at the Blink, let Creative Dining know—in the words of Cauley, “we’re here for you guys.”