MARCH
4, 2003
COLLEGE'S NEW COFFEE SHOP FEEDS A NEED
By
Eugene Tong
Staff Writer, Daily News
Staff Writer, Daily News
Tuesday,
March 04, 2003 - VALENCIA -- In a white stucco kiosk at College of the
Canyons' southern end, tension percolated early Tuesday as two people
scurried to serve a line of students and faculty seeking a morning caffeine
fix or a warm refuge from the winter chill.
There's been a lot more brewing on campus since Java 'n Jazz opened in January. The locally owned patio cafe serves hundreds of students each day and is part of a gradual expansion of food services as enrollment continues to increase.
"You can't have too much coffee on a college campus," college spokesman John McElwain said. "We're looking at 20,000 to 21,000 students enrolling at the community college in 2008. People are coming to campus, and we have to make food and beverages available to everybody."
Plans to bring the cafe -- the second storefront operated by Valencia-based Newhall Coffee Roasting Company -- began last year when school officials approached its owners to raise funds for the University Center project.
"At that time we were just visiting people," said Kathleen Maloney, executive director of the college's nonprofit fund-raising arm. "They took us through a great tour of their coffee plant, and they said they were very anxious and very happy to work with us."
With more that 12,500 students, opening an outlet on campus seemed like a no-brainer for Newhall Coffee co-founder Mitch McMullen.
"We've been looking at expanding there for a while," he said. "It's pretty obvious. A lot of us got through college on caffeine."
The cafe -- open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. -- was intentionally placed near the interim University Center, the temporary home of a program that allows local residents to take courses and degrees from four-year universities, said Sharlene Coleal, the college's chief business officer.
"Our contract with those (universities) requires food services," she said. "We have working people coming for classes at night and the cafeteria closes at 7 p.m. If they need to get food after that time, they'd have no where else to go. That's why the campus kiosk is so critical."
The stand has been successful, severing an average 400 customers a day with part of the proceeds benefiting the college foundation. Asked what made their coffee drinks special, coffee brewer Daniel Dokovna, 21, answered: "We make it with love."
For most customers lined up by the stand early Tuesday, that first cup of joe is an invitation to join the waking world.
"I'm not a morning person," said Alison Hans-Gebre, 30.
"It gives me my jump-start of the day," said Rebekah Stegner, 21, who commutes from Palmdale through bumper-to-bumper traffic on Antelope Valley Freeway. "If I don't have it, I'd be grumpy."
But it won't stop there as McMullen ponders expanding their cafe business. Until recently, Newhall Coffee had only operated one cafe since it was founded 10 years ago.
"We hadn't really had expansion in our plans until this year," he said. "We've been focusing on our coffee business -- getting that into stores. Now we're looking at other opportunities.
"We feel there could be a place somewhere if we find the right location. Either a drive-through coffee stand or a store. Like they say, 'location, location, location.' That's the key."
There's been a lot more brewing on campus since Java 'n Jazz opened in January. The locally owned patio cafe serves hundreds of students each day and is part of a gradual expansion of food services as enrollment continues to increase.
"You can't have too much coffee on a college campus," college spokesman John McElwain said. "We're looking at 20,000 to 21,000 students enrolling at the community college in 2008. People are coming to campus, and we have to make food and beverages available to everybody."
Plans to bring the cafe -- the second storefront operated by Valencia-based Newhall Coffee Roasting Company -- began last year when school officials approached its owners to raise funds for the University Center project.
"At that time we were just visiting people," said Kathleen Maloney, executive director of the college's nonprofit fund-raising arm. "They took us through a great tour of their coffee plant, and they said they were very anxious and very happy to work with us."
With more that 12,500 students, opening an outlet on campus seemed like a no-brainer for Newhall Coffee co-founder Mitch McMullen.
"We've been looking at expanding there for a while," he said. "It's pretty obvious. A lot of us got through college on caffeine."
The cafe -- open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. -- was intentionally placed near the interim University Center, the temporary home of a program that allows local residents to take courses and degrees from four-year universities, said Sharlene Coleal, the college's chief business officer.
"Our contract with those (universities) requires food services," she said. "We have working people coming for classes at night and the cafeteria closes at 7 p.m. If they need to get food after that time, they'd have no where else to go. That's why the campus kiosk is so critical."
The stand has been successful, severing an average 400 customers a day with part of the proceeds benefiting the college foundation. Asked what made their coffee drinks special, coffee brewer Daniel Dokovna, 21, answered: "We make it with love."
For most customers lined up by the stand early Tuesday, that first cup of joe is an invitation to join the waking world.
"I'm not a morning person," said Alison Hans-Gebre, 30.
"It gives me my jump-start of the day," said Rebekah Stegner, 21, who commutes from Palmdale through bumper-to-bumper traffic on Antelope Valley Freeway. "If I don't have it, I'd be grumpy."
But it won't stop there as McMullen ponders expanding their cafe business. Until recently, Newhall Coffee had only operated one cafe since it was founded 10 years ago.
"We hadn't really had expansion in our plans until this year," he said. "We've been focusing on our coffee business -- getting that into stores. Now we're looking at other opportunities.
"We feel there could be a place somewhere if we find the right location. Either a drive-through coffee stand or a store. Like they say, 'location, location, location.' That's the key."
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