OrganicLife opened Central’s new in-house coffee shop in a partnership with Big Shoulders Coffee on Aug. 15. The coffee shop is located in Central’s old faculty cafeteria, across from the main cafeteria’s serving lines. It also serves breakfast before school.
The addition comes after a year of delays since OrganicLife replaced Aramark as District 203’s food service provider. After settling into their role, they worked with Principal Jackie Thornton and Carrie McFadden, Assistant Principal of Operations, to plan the coffee shop in March of 2024.
“It took a little longer than we thought,” McFadden said. “[But] we’d rather have it done well, so I’m glad the way that that part worked out.”
The coffee shop was originally set to be placed in Central’s school store, however, due to a lack of water access the plan changed for it to be located in the former faculty cafeteria. The long-shuttered school store will reopen later this year, as Central’s Athletic Boosters plans to sell school merchandise twice a week during lunch periods.
“The creation of the coffee shop took place over the summer, with dedicated teams working on renovations, equipment installation and menu development,” OrganicLife wrote in a statement to the Central Times. “The construction was scheduled to ensure minimal disruption to the school environment, and careful attention was given to creating a welcoming atmosphere for students.”
The coffee shop is required to follow USDA regulations for the National School Lunch Program smart snack requirements, which limits the sugar content of beverages and prohibits the use of credit cards as a payment method.
Though the initiative was a joint effort between the food service provider and Central’s administration, OrganicLife “took it and ran with it,” according to Thornton.
“I’m very grateful to OrganicLife because we said ‘this is what we would like to do but we would like OrganicLife to own it’ and they have,” Thornton said. “I appreciate that.”
Thornton originally planned to use the coffee shop to offer vocational opportunities for students with special needs, but with the change in food service providers, the plans fell through. According to OrganicLife, they’re still open to offering those opportunities.
“OrganicLife does plan to offer vocational opportunities to students through the coffee shop, if desired by the administration,” OrganicLife wrote in the statement. “We will provide training in various roles. This initiative aims to equip students with valuable skills and experience for future employment.”
OrganicLife declined to share specific revenue projections, although the coffee shop “could achieve profitability within six to twelve months, depending on student engagement and marketing efforts” based on their initial estimates.
