After several years of students begging and pleading, Ashland University is now offering Starbucks coffee on the campus. When students returned to campus to start spring semester, they were thrilled to find that the Eagles’ Nest was “proudly brewing” Starbucks Coffee.
“I was excited because I felt that it meant Ashland was making improvements and trying to give the students what they want,” said Ella Waltman, a junior from Millersburg.
The Ashland University Auxiliary Services department began looking into whether it was even possible to bring a Starbucks onto campus in the fall.
“We were afraid it was going to take another couple of months before the program would be ready to unveil, but with the help of Ashland University Facilities Management we really pushed to have Starbucks in place by the start of the spring semester,” said Matt Portner, director of Auxiliary Services.
According to Portner, the price of bringing a Starbucks franchise onto campus was well out of the University’s budget, so they looked for other options and found the perfect program. “The ‘We Proudly Brew’ program perfectly fit the bill for us,” he said.
Though the program does not create a franchise per se, it does provide the customer with support and equipment as well as training.
According to the Starbucks website, the program gives “support in leveraging the Starbucks brand,” which includes equipment, training, marketing materials, recipe kits, branded products such as cups and other paper products, and even access to a Starbucks sales representative.
According to Portner, a Starbucks representative came to campus in order to train the Eagles’ Nest staff, and this will not be the representative’s only trip to campus.
“We will expect them on campus at least four times a year to ensure that we are meeting the high production standards for the Starbucks brand of coffees,” Portner said.
Though the menu offered is not quite as extensive as that which is offered at a Starbucks franchise store, they are still able to offer some of their most popular drinks, which are sure to be favorites with many Ashland University students.
The menu includes flavored lattes, café mocha, caramel macchiato, white chocolate mocha, cappuccino, and more.
The Eagles’ Nest is not the only location on campus taking advantage of the “We Proudly Brew” program. Ashland University’s Catering & Conference Services will now offer customers the choice between Seattle’s Best coffees and Starbucks brand coffee.
“We are excited about the new offerings and proud to be able to make them available at the start of 2010,” Portner said.
The Eagles’ Nest is located on the first floor of the Hawkins-Conard Student Center and is open Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to midnight, Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 12 noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday 6 p.m. to midnight.
