The NMU branch of Starbucks plans to move to the New Jamrich building following its completion in August 2014.
According to NMU Auxiliary Services, a new Starbucks location will begin construction within the new facility in mid-March, which will lead to the relocation of the current Starbucks located in the Learning Resource Center over the summer.
Tom Helgren, director of Auxiliary Services, said the construction of New Jamrich and deconstruction of the old Jamrich building could relocate Stone Creek Coffee, which is currently located on the second floor of Jamrich Hall.
“We are going to relocate the existing [Starbucks] operation into the New Jamrich facility once the building is up and running,” Helgren said. “There is no definitive plan for Stone Creek [Coffee] as far as relocation. We don’t have any limitations as far as policy.”
According to Cindy Paavola, director of NMU Communications and Marketing, a policy held by Starbucks could not allow Stone Creek Coffee to share the same building as Starbucks. Paavola said these policies are common in many businesses, including vending.
“Those kinds of clauses in contracts are very typical,” Paavola said. “We’ve got many examples of that on campus – as do all campuses,” Paavola said. “For instance, we have a contract with Pepsi to be the vending machine supplier right now, and, in that contract, it states that no other soft drink or bottled water shall be bought or used by the university. That’s just the way those kinds of contracts are constructed.”
Helgren confirmed the presence of a clause within Starbucks but stated Stone Creek can move anywhere else on campus that is available.
“There is a [Starbucks] policy that states they can’t be in the same building,” Helgren said. “We can take the Stone Creek and move it to a different location on campus.”
Jessica Peterson, senior English major and student supervisor at Stone Creek Coffee, said the possibility of not being able to relocate the shop after the old Jamrich building is razed could impact customers and current employees.
“There are a lot of people who are going to disappointed if we move,” Peterson said. “There are also a lot of employees, as well, who will be upset if they lose their jobs because that will break their hearts. This coffee shop kind of feels like my baby. I’ve seen it grow from a little hole in the wall and grow into what it is now.”
Peterson also said she is afraid Stone Creek Coffee may have been overlooked despite its growth on campus.
“We have grown a lot the last four years of the operation since we have been open,” Peterson said. “I don’t know if Dining Services has necessarily been looking at that. There are some people [at Stone Creek] who might not have seen this as an option.”
Helgren said the new Starbucks location could also impact the amounts of student movement on campus. Once the old Starbucks venue has been cleared, Helgren also said actions are planned to determine what can move into the available space.
“We are evaluating what operations would best fit the needs for our students in that location,” Helgren said. “Once we move Starbucks out, it is unknown of what the traffic flow is going to be in the LRC. With the new design of New Jamrich, it is more of an open concept so we don’t know if the students are going to migrate over to the new facility and that open area or if they are going to continue the traffic flow down into the basement of the LRC.
“Whatever the needs of the students are, we will evaluate and put together a ‘reuse plan’ for that location.”
The new Starbucks in New Jamrich is planned to be open for business in time for the Fall 2014 semester.
