Cal State Long Beach students living in the residence halls will soon have easy access to a late-night caffeine fix.
According to Scott Charmack, associate vice president of Physical Planning and Facilities Management, two Seattle’s Best coffee shops will open in residential areas on campus.
He said one of the coffee shops will reside on the ground floor of Los Alamitos Hall. Charmack said the building, which was designed in the traditional dorm style, has a large space that will easily accommodate a Seattle’s Best location. Don Penrod, general manager and CEO of 49er Shops Inc., said the Seattle’s Best in Los Alamitos Hall will take over the area previously occupied by a big screen television and couches.
Penrod said the coffee house in Parkside Commons will take over the study lounge in the Parkside Commons Office.
He said the coffee shops will be open from 7:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. in order to accommodate students’ schedules and complement the existing dining hall hours.
“We understand [the students’] dining habits are not like the traditional family’s,” Penrod said.
Penrod said that while residents are the target customers, the shops will be available for all students. He said that pricing would probably be comparable to other coffee shops but they have not yet set final prices. Penrod said that, because Seattle’s Best is not a chain brand like Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, the pricing options are more flexible. He said the prices might be more affordable or comparable to chains, but he added that the prices will not be higher than competitors’ prices.
Penrod said the project is being funded through a partnership between 49er Shops Inc. and housing. He said housing is covering the costs of construction while the 49er Shops are providing equipment and staffing the facilities.
Charmack said construction on the two coffee houses will begin early next week, and he said construction should last approximately eight to nine weeks.
Penrod said they originally approached Starbucks for the locations but they wanted to see a larger volume than they had planned. Instead, Seattle’s Best, which was acquired by Starbucks in 2003, was chosen for the coffee houses.
“Seattle’s Best is in the Nugget,” Penrod said. “We feel pretty good about [our choice.]”
Penrod said that, while there have been previous attempts to create a late-night atmosphere for residents and plans had been made to include coffee houses in new dorms that will be built on campus, President F. King Alexander made a big push to build the Seattle’s Best coffee houses this school year.
“The president wanted to get them done sooner than later,” Penrod said.
According to Penrod, many aspects of the coffee house have not been fully decided yet, as they are still consumed with the construction of the coffee shops. He said they have not thought a lot about programming and recreation in the shops, but he added that 49er Shops might coordinate with Housing and Residential Life to plan activities for students.