MOORHEAD – The Coffee Stop moved from its original location by the glass bulletin boards in the atrium, to the Maize on Tuesday, April 2.
“Originally it was planned to be [in the Maize] when they were building the campus center but last minute it was decided to have it in a separate spot. So, we already had all the plumbing and design to be here,” said Bill Fradet, assistant director of dining services.
Due to high requests of more hours and the location of the Coffee Stop, it moved to the Maize.
“The setting of the old Coffee Stop, there was nowhere to sit or gather. Essentially, it was take your coffee and leave. It really isn’t the welcoming vibe we want. Where here in the Maize you can come as a group, people can sit here, eat food from the Maize and it is more of a coffee shop type setting,” said Tony Boersma, retail operations manager of the Maize, Coffee Stop and Korn Krib.
With the move, the Coffee Stop and Maize now have more hours. Including both nights and weekends.
“56 more hours a week it is open to students and the maize is open 7 more hours a week,” Fradet said.
Dining Services speculate that moving the Coffee Stop will be positive for students, faculty and staff since they will spend less time waiting in lines for food and drinks.
“Since it is down here, if they are going to get something to eat and drink, they will be here, so you don’t have to make two stops, it’s more convenient for people,” Boersma said.
As for staffing, it is a lot easier for Boersma to keep the Coffee Stop open regularly.
“The Coffee Stop only had seven employees so if two are sick on the same day, your whole day is blown. But now if people can’t come, there’s more people to step in,” Boersma said.
The move allows the Coffee Stop to be open during the summer. The Maize hours in the summer are usually 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The old location of the Coffee Stop will not be permanently closed though, Fradet and Boersma are looking forward to announcing what will take up that space.
“Something new will be going into that area and we have planned an August opening day, we just don’t have enough to share about it yet. We think students will really like it,” Fradet said.
