Gianna Hayes
News Editor
Returning students to campus have been surprised to find that the basement of Kauke Hall no longer houses the vibrant, bustling Boo Bears Brew — in its place is Old Main Café, reinstated after a four-year hiatus that began when the pandemic shut its doors.
According to Marjorie Shamp, director of Campus Dining, Boo Bears’ presence on campus “was never intended to be long-term.” The coronavirus pandemic was the catalyst for Creative Dining Services (CDS) to shut down Old Main Café, a service run since 2006. It also prompted them to work with local businesses such as Oma Gourd and The Curry Pot to cater lunches during the renovation of Lowry. Boo Bears Brew was installed in Old Main’s place in order to ease the strain on Knowlton Café and fill the gap in manpower with which CDS was faced.
“Those were measures that were intended to help support the students when we were limited with what we could do because of the Lowry renovation — and I’ll be honest, it was very expensive,” Shamp explained.
Founded by mother-son team Melissa and Seth Feikert in 2018, Boo Bears Brew started as a mobile coffee shop. Quickly gaining steam, they opened their first location in May 2020, sharing a space with Local Roots in downtown Wooster. In 2022, Boo Bears’ campus was located in the basement of Kauke Hall, with the added opportunity of hiring workers from the student body.
“I had a lot of fun,” Lily Bulman ’25, former Boo Bears barista, said. “We were able to still express ourselves, and it was fun talking to customers […] but also just working […] was nice because it was always busy, I was always meeting new people.”
In the early weeks of July, Seth Feikert was informed the café would be placed under CDS management. Before then, the company “had been fully anticipating [their] return for the fall semester.” According to Feikert, the downtown location is planning to supplement its menu with items previously only offered at the campus location.
Shamp affirmed in an Aug. 22 interview with the Voice staff that the decision was about “efficiency”; Old Main Café sources the majority of its food from MacLeod’s kitchen, producing the grab-and-go menu “fresh each morning.” Old Main continues to work with Melissa Feikert to meet “the demographic needs that we have,” said Shamp. The baked goods are “gluten-free and vegan and they’re fresh and they taste fantastic,” she continued.
One of the popular menu items at Boo Bears was its bagel offerings — Old Main has kept supplying students with the same bagels, working with Wootown Bagels of Wooster, another local business.
Andio Sisters, another Wooster-based, family-owned business that was featured often on Boo Bears’ menu, will not be offered at Old Main. Shamp said that this was a “more cost-effective” choice, as the in-house grab-and-go menu offers similar sandwich options.
There was no indication to students that Old Main would be reinstated until their arrival to campus. For some students, it was a surprise to not see bubbly baristas taking orders and making lattes.
“I miss seeing friendly students I knew behind the counter and hearing fun music playing,” Ty Reynolds ’27 said. “Now [Old Main] seems so institutional and bland when before it was a much needed space full [of] creativity, energy, friendship, and … great coffee and tea.”
Bulman also lamented the lack of community, saying “it’s not as crowded, it’s not as fun, it’s not as much of a social place anymore and I think that’s kind of sad.” She also noted that Old Main “doesn’t stay open until 6:00 p.m. Your only food option after 4:00 is Lowry or the C Store.” Zeke Locklear ’26 agreed, saying “it’s now just a copy-and-paste in 3 locations.”
