Naperville Central was supposed to have its own coffee shop to start the school year, but after District 203 switched food service providers in July, the installation of the shop has been delayed while OrganicLife “gets settled.”
For much of last year, Principal Jackie Thornton had led the development and finalization of plans for a coffee shop at Naperville Central. But when OrganicLife was named the new food provider for the district, those plans needed to be modified.
“I think OrganicLife is wonderful,” Thornton said. “But I was very disappointed when Aramark didn’t get the contract because I knew that meant that the coffee shop was going to be delayed.”
The delay isn’t permanent, and Thornton is set to discuss new plans with OrganicLife in mid-October.
“I’m not giving up,” Thornton said. “OrganicLife [has] assured me that the coffee shop is going to happen.”
OrganicLife did not respond to a request for comment.
As for changes to the original plans, the shift is bigger than just replacing ‘Aramark’ with ‘OrganicLife.’ On top of the design changes, the original plan included students working at the shop, whereas the new one will be managed by OrganicLife.
“One of the most important parts to me in this was the partnership with our special education department and offering vocational opportunities for students who need them,” Thornton told the Central Times in May. “We had that plan worked out with Aramark and we have to start over with OrganicLife.”
The coffee shop was expected to be a welcome change for the estimated 72% of Central students and staff who drink coffee, at a weekly cost of $34,221. Those numbers are based on a CT survey of 364 respondents from late April.
“I was excited because it would have been easier for me to get coffee and not have to worry about trying to get something from Dunkin or Starbucks on the way to school,” senior Maeve Shamo said. “[The delay] is unfortunate, because it would have been nice to have a beginning-of-the-year coffee shop.”
