The Jitterbugs Cafe had a soft opening in the Seymour Union on Wednesday, Nov. 8. This opening came after months of discussions, regarding redesigning and repurposing the area.
Brockport Auxiliary Services Corporation (BASC) assistant executive director Anna Hintz credits the university for the incorporation of Starbucks into the new cafe.
“They were really interested in bringing Starbucks to campus and I think that that came from students being back. The campus has really had an interest, particularly in Starbucks so we were working together to try to make that happen and we figured out that this was a way that we could bring it to campus, so we are happy to do that,” Hintz said.
Students have been anticipating Jitterbugs` “We proudly serve Starbucks” program, which incorporates the entire Starbucks drink menu. On Wednesday, students like SUNY Brockport junior Alyssa George eagerly waited in line to order some of their favorite Starbucks drinks at the cafe’s soft opening.
“I thought the new cafe was nice; very cute and the location is preferable since it’s around The Square. I think it appeals to a lot of students because most of the students like coffee and tea,” George said.
George ordered a vanilla iced latte from the Starbucks menu at Jitterbugs.
“I would probably go back, but mainly with friends. I do want to try more flavors of coffee and see which works best for me,” George said.
BASC director of dining services Cathy Legacy has been working with a team regularly to help bring the cafe to life.
“We have been meeting since the beginning of the fall because you have to have the menu and it has to all get approved. The marketing plan, your vision for how the cafe is gonna get laid out, what the space is going to look like, and making sure that all your utilities are in the right places,” Legacy said.
The opening process proved to be multifaceted.
“It was a relatively smooth process, but did take some time as there were a number of stages from the initial start of the project to opening. This included receiving approval for Jitterbugs to join the ‘We proudly serve Starbucks’ program,” Hintz said.
There were many stages in the process of opening the cafe, which included meeting Starbucks specifications and standards, ordering equipment and products, training the staff on the large drink menu and getting the point of sale set in coordination with the new menu.
The new Jitterbugs Cafe accepts several different payment options, like Points, Easy Money and credit/debit. Cash, Starbucks Points and Starbucks gift cards will not be accepted.
