A successful start for Starbucks on campus

The beginning of each academic year brings new, exciting things: new classes, a new schedule, new living arrangements, new hopes and goals, new friends, and—if you’re a student at Boston College—a new Starbucks on campus.

This year, to the pleasure and surprise of many, a Starbucks coffee bar was installed in the On the Fly convenience mart, located on the top floor of McElroy Commons. Considering college students’ undeniable need for and obsession with coffee, it is no shock that this new mini café on campus has had some pretty solid business.

Now a little over a month into the semester, this new Starbucks is in full swing.

The Tab sat down with Megan O’Neill (Associate Director of Restaurant Operations), and Mike Forcier (General Manager of Carney’s, Eagle’s Nest, and the Faculty Dining Room in McElroy) to talk about the new coffee stop on campus.

According to O’Neill and Forcier, this is not the first time that Starbucks has been on campus.

When Hillside opened in 2002, Starbucks was the vendor for coffee and drinks.  However, when the Starbucks corporation began to focus on their own stores rather than partnerships with universities, BC Dining had to find a new vendor.

Now that Starbucks has begun to form partnerships with universities once again, BC has welcomed them back on campus in a new location.

Forcier said that they chose Starbucks because it is a student favorite, and BC Dining wants to be able to give students a choice in their dining options.  Like Peet’s Coffee and Equal Exchange, Starbucks also aligns with BC’s Fair Trade initiative.

The new Starbucks on the BC campus is not a franchise. Rather, it is a brand and partnership with BC, just like Meatball Obsession. Instead of buying franchises and opening stores run by company employees, BC buys product from Starbucks and Meatball Obsession that they then sell in their dining halls.

O’Neill proudly noted that BC dining halls are all self-operated, which aligns with BC’s message and social justice. The Starbucks is seen as a win-win because their brand helps sell the product and also gives new opportunities to BC employees.

The decision to introduce Starbucks to campus was not made solely by Dining Services. Forcier explained that Dining Services meet with many student survey groups throughout the year to gauge student interest and satisfaction with dining options.

Forcier said: “We don’t say ‘Starbucks is my favorite coffee so we’ll bring it in.'” Instead, Dining Services researched potential brands and let students choose what they want.  Fair Trade and social issues also factor into brand partnerships.

“Due to this process our product is by far better, the ingredients and the flavor profile.” Another example of listening to student preferences is the new Green It salad bar in Eagle’s Nest in McElroy. Green It follows the trend of new salad bars and restaurants, but is BC Dining’s own concept.

So far, Starbucks has far exceeded their expectations. The first order of Starbucks coffee was supposed to last for two weeks.

They ran out within four days.

Since it opened, 300 additional hot beverages have been sold by the department per day.  This means that Starbucks has filled a need for individuals who were not previously buying drinks from the other coffee stops on campus.

We wanted to know more about the average customer and student opinion, so we talked with Ronny Flodquist, a barista at the new Starbucks.

When asked what his favorite Starbucks drink is, he said: “I like the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which we didn’t originally have, but there was so much demand that we got it.”

We decided to inquire with some other BC students to get their take and opinion on this new addition to campus.

Sophomore Ann Schueppert immediately said: “I love it.

“One word—sweetness.”

“It is great to have it on campus,” agreed Lexie Seigies, another sophomore.