Kaldi’s Coffeehouse ‘Brewing’ on campus
12/11/07
Changes are brewing at Maryville University and they’re coming in both caffeinated and decaffeinated forms as a Kaldi’s Coffeehouse will open on campus in Spring 2008. The business will be located in the space now occupied by the Kresge Lobby and the Morton J. May Art Gallery, adjacent to the University Library.
“The addition of Kaldi’s is another way that we are creating a total university experience for our students that will enhance students’ experience in the library and overall entire campus community environment,” said Nina Caldwell, Ed.D., Maryville’s vice president for student life and dean of students. Kaldi’s also may provide several employment opportunities for students, Caldwell added.
During construction of the coffeehouse, the May Gallery will be relocated temporarily to the Donius University Center in an area formerly used as a lounge for quiet study. After Kaldi’s has opened, the gallery will return to the Library Building, where it will be three times its current size and located in the space now occupied by the McDonnell Douglas Board Room and the Novus Room. People will enter the gallery through the library.
Maryville Student Government leaders eagerly anticipate Kaldi’s arrival. “This new coffeehouse will be a beacon of light when I’m surrounded by the familiar fog of too much homework, not only during finals week but also throughout the rest of the year,” said MSG Senator Dan Wormek of St. Louis, a liberal arts major. “And if my college experience is at all similar to that of my friends at Maryville, then I think they’ll appreciate it as much as me.” MSG President Justin Zimmerman of Hillsboro, Ill., a liberal arts major, added, “The coffeehouse will provide another place for students to socialize and interact. Students are excited about an on-campus venue to gather.”
Students are not the only ones looking forward to the opening of Kaldi’s. Genie McKee, Ph.D., dean of the University Library, expects the coffeehouse to have a significant impact on library usage. She views it as a nice complement to the extensive Library renovations that occurred earlier this year. “We are seeing big increases in gatecount between this year and last year, nearly 2,000 more students this October compared to October 2006, with almost the same increase in November compared to last November,” McKee remarked.
Currently, patrons can bring covered beverages with small snacks into the library. That will include beverages from Kaldi’s as well, McKee commented, adding, “We even have coffee tables! And the library has great lounge chairs where students can sit and enjoy their coffee.” The renovated Library lounge area promises to be the ideal gathering spot for faculty, staff and students to gather for intellectual discussion on the issues of the day. “I think a coffeehouse on campus is a great idea,” said MSG Vice President Kristin Moorehead of Godfrey, Ill., an organizational leadership major. “It will be a great place for students to go. They can do homework, drink coffee or just hang out. I think it will be great, who doesn’t like a late night drink or snack with friends?”