The history of coffee at The College of Wooster

Zoe Covey

Features Editor

Coffee has long been consid- ered a necessity for late night studiers, early risers and adults who simply need to stay focused throughout the day. It’s no sur- prise that something nicknamed “brain juice” would be quite popular on a college campus. But how do we get our coffee at The College of Wooster? And how long has that been the way to do it? Over the years, the College has had many on- campus options for where to get that extra boost of energy for writing hours of I.S.

The mid 1990s ushered in a new era for students, establish- ing The Java Hut, the College’s first coffee shop. Originally in the Wired Scot (what is now part of The Alley), The Java Hut moved into Mom’s upon the renovation of the Wired Scot. In the move, The Java Hut also acquired a new neighbor: the first C-store.

But the coffee explosion of the 1990s wasn’t over yet; in 1999 Common Grounds opened with the goal “to provide/promote a substance-free environment as an alternative to parties on campus,” according to Mercer McLennan ’21. Independent of Campus Din- ing, Common Grounds focuses more on the social aspect of coffee, and on food in general.

In 2006, Old Main Café joined the ranks of coffee distribut- ers, though it wasn’t original- ly quite how it is today. In the past, Old Main only accepted cash due to limited space and storage. Now, it fortunately (or unfortunately if you’re not a fan of the between-class line) does take student flex dollars.
The aforementioned Java Hut and C-store have since moved up- stairs and become the MacLeod’s location we know today, and Knowlton Café’s introduction in 2018 has put yet another snack and beverage location on the map. Clearly, things have changed much more than we may realize even over the last decade. Even our coffee provider has changed more than once, as campus dining staff checked in with student voices. Ac- cording to Donna Yonker, general manager of Catering & Retailing Operations, “with each space, new products or concepts were introduced which allowed us to increase our offerings. In the beginning, a local company from downtown Wooster that roasted their own beans provided the coffee. Unfortunately, this company ended up going out of business, so we decided to introduce the Starbucks brand. However, with the Star- bucks brand we could not deviate from their brands and could not make or use a different product.”

Yonker reflects that eventu- ally, “students began asking for more local food sources, so we started searching for a local cof- fee vendor that could give us high quality product and be able to keep up with the demand. We partnered with Caruso’s which is a local vendor. This supplier provided us the freedom to be able to make and introduce products that our students like and need, especially for dietary restrictions or allergies.”