As students started this fall many were shocked to find a fully renovated Starbucks in John X. Jamrich hall. NMU has a Master Use Licensing Agreement with Starbucks for the Jamrich location, which is different than the agreement for the Starbucks in the Northern Center.

“Once you get a Starbucks like this with the Master Licensing [Use] Agreement there are certain stipulations that happen,” said Alexa Christensen, Director of Dining Services. “You have to refresh every 10 years to keep your license and you have to adhere to certain rules and regulations that Starbucks lays out in the contract.”

This renovation has been in the works for a while, NMU officials said, and it coincided with the visit of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and his $1 million donation.

“The construction started about the second week of last May,” Christensen said. “We knew as soon as we signed the contract that every 10 years we would need to do a refresh. It was just a happy coincidence with Howard Schultz.”

Coffee enjoyers can find a more up-to-date service counter and pick up area. Workers at Starbucks also have a lot more room to work, another sink, another oven and more storage.

“There were some places for wiggle room in there, which we used to keep Northern’s nature-based look” Christensen said.