The cafeteria will be getting a refreshing addition this year, in the form of a Coffee Shop. What is being sold there? Well, Coffee to start, and they have a lot of competition in the area when it comes to that Starbucks, dutch, and even Quiktrip present great challengers for this plucky little start up. Since the beginning of second semester last year, Aramark has been attempting to put up this “Coffee Shop” in the Cafeteria.

 Over half a year later, they’ve gotten as far a taping off an area on the eastern wall of the cafeteria. But the question remains, Why has it taken so long? The Short answer, Permits. “The first drawback was that plans weren’t submitted to the city for approval” commented Mr. Serrano, “So that took some time.” A timing error had pushed the project back, both the school and Aramark had to submit designs, and this wait was an unavoidable obstacle for the coffee shop’s construction. Mr. Serrano was unable to give a concrete date on the finalization, “Hopefully soon”. 

Many people have been waiting patiently for this to open, but many have also forgotten about this project, “I was unaware of the existence of the coffee shop,” said Junior Alex Curtis. Mr. Lange, the DECA advisor, hasn’t forgotten, “The price point is going to be 4.50 and up, so it’s going to be way higher than ours ”. He has been preparing for the opening of the coffee shop, since he heard about it last year, to make sure the Puma Den remains competitive with Aramark. “It will pull some of the business, just because it’s a similar product”, In the Interview, he seemed relaxed, leaning back in his chair, so however much this new cafeteria addition will affect the Puma Den, he didn’t seem concerned.

This Coffee shop idea has been a thorn in DECA’s side since last year when they put out the “Save the Puma Den” Petition to prevent Aramark from shutting them down. This was not an isolated case either, Aramark shut down the School Store at Chandler, making it into a classroom. Aramark, for those who don’t know, is the supplier for the district, all things cafeteria related come through Aramark. Food, Utensils, even the napkins come from this supply magnate. Aramark has major contracts with so many different industries, obviously, education but also correctional facilities, supplying food to prisons across America. “They’re doing everything they can to make sure that they’re making a profit” added Lange, “and that kind of bothers me because last time I checked schools aren’t really for profit.” Business is business, plain and simple, focus on the facts, they try to save a penny wherever they can, like counting out the chips for the nachos. But that’s a hot button topic for a different time. The point being that the profits earned by Aramark, belong to Aramark, what students make, comes back to the students.  But until the ribbon is cut for this new stall, students will eagerly wait for their daily caffeine fix to be filled a little closer to home.