The new KSU Starbucks officially opened Monday, January 18 in the Social Sciences building lobby, replacing the kiosk that existed previously and relieving many coffee-dependent students.
The full-service restaurant offers all of the same menu items as a regular Starbucks. The menu is comprised of espresso drinks, coffees and teas, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, healthy bistro boxes, yogurt parfaits, hot oatmeal with fruit toppings, seasonal beverages, a PB&J snack box and grab-and-go items.
“I really like the new Starbucks, especially the bigger menu,” said Leah Register, a junior middle grades education major.
It also features a completely remodeled coffee bar and seating area, which has a warmer and more modern feel than the former seating area. The space has 137 seats, each with a power strip for students to plug in their devices, several community tables labeled for handicapped accessibility, two “cubbies” with a living room feel, window seats, 50 outside seats equipped with umbrellas and music. Additionally, there are two half walls with electrical outlets, which have adjoining tables.
“This is a fully licensed Starbucks with all the bells and whistles,” said Ronald Pearlstein, director of operations for Chartwells. “The décor, including the gold tile on the back wall, the black wood grain on the columns, the ‘engine,’ or ordering area, with the black grain and the lighting package is the first of this type of décor package for Starbucks.”
“I really like the new design of the whole space; it’s a lot more inviting,” says Annie Hill, a senior international affairs major. “I didn’t really like working or studying…prior to that because I just felt like it was really bland and distracting. Now it has more of a coffee shop atmosphere.”
The main goal in creating this new space, says Joshua Wendling, marketing manager of KSU’s Culinary and Hospitality Services, is to create a comfortable area for KSU students to socialize, study and connect with classmates. “The new and improved tables, soft-seating enclaves and power outlet-equipped bar seating were specifically designed to create [this],” he said.
Additionally, the restaurant now has longer hours for students’ convenience. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. According to Pearlstein, it will also offer expanded hours during finals week each semester.
“Feedback from students is such that they have to go off campus to find a location to study or hang out,” said Pearlstein. “No longer will that be the case.”
Wendling adds that this new addition to the Social Sciences building will attract students from outside its walls. “The Starbucks can now serve the entire Kennesaw campus community, in addition to the already loyal patrons of the Social Sciences building,” he said.
Currently, K-Cash, Dining Dollars, debit, credit, and cash are all accepted for payment, but the use of Starbucks Reward cards will also by accepted at the end of January.
Register, although a fan of the new Starbucks, points out one thing that she wishes had remained. “I miss the [international] flags that hung from the ceiling,” she said. “I think that really encompassed the diversity at KSU.”
Perhaps this addition to the Social Sciences building, the majority of whose population has historically been communication, political science and international affairs students, will bring a greater diversity of students within the doors—replacing the lost symbol of diversity that the former space had with something more tangible.