During a typical school year, juniors and seniors regularly leave the building during lunch for coffee and snacks. However, freshmen and sophomores are left with nothing but the cafeteria for their food and social needs.
To address this issue and create a community within the school building, Huntley High School is building a coffee shop for the next school year.
According to Principal Marcus Belin, the new shop will share similar qualities to renowned companies such as Starbucks and Tropical Smoothie Café. In conjunction with a company called Quest Foods, Huntley High School will be looking to have the shop built in the commons by the target completion date of Aug. 1.
“A lot of people think we are just going into our budget and spending money just because, but in reality, Food Services are looking to increase revenue and the ability to have students remain on our campus as much as possible,” Belin said.
Fortunately, students will just miss the construction dust because construction will take place during the summer.
“Items have already started to be ordered, and we’ve been making decisions on finishes and the type of stone or barn look. This is not just what you would expect to see in a cafeteria, but it will actually have that coffee shop feel and still blend in with the building,” Belin said.
As for the name of the coffee shop, Belin is looking to have groups of students submit some different ideas and eventually participate in a kickoff ceremony.
In order to accommodate early arriving staff and students along with after-school activities, the coffee shop’s hours will most likely be anywhere from 6:30 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m.
“We will still have some of the same drinks: the cold brews, which are very popular, a lot of different smoothies, lattes, macchiatos, frappuccinos, and other drinks of that nature. There will also be sandwiches and so forth that people will be able to get as lunch or snacks as well as other healthier foods,” Belin said.
The menu looks to be inclusive too because Belin explained how there will be milk substitutes and other allergy-friendly alternatives.
One of the coffee shops’ biggest differences from other coffee shops will be its affordable prices.
“The drinks won’t be as high in terms of price as what you would find at Starbucks. For example, a drink at this coffee shop will be around half the price of a $6 drink found at Starbucks,” Belin said. “We still have some guidelines that make it so we can only go as large as a Starbucks Grande-sized drink.”
Excitingly enough, students will be able to participate in fundraising opportunities that will allow people to subscribe or get a subscription to the shop’s coffee. They will then be able to pick it up from school. Special services groups like the life skills classes, who originally ran the coffee cart, will be able to help package, market, and sell the coffee as well.
Surprisingly, coffee and other drinks besides water will be allowed in the classroom according to Belin.
“One of the things we talked about was the ability for teachers to get drinks in between classes. I want to create a double standard for students,” Belin said.
The coffee shop seems like a great way to keep more students in the building; however, the amount of students to purchase from the shop is expected to be very high.
“We are hoping for the possibility of an app where people can pre-order foods, especially because a lot of people use digital currency,” Belin said.
“My goal is to create a sense of community in our building, especially after COVID-19 We need to figure out where kids can have time to sit, have conversations, and reconnect. We want to be able to get them accustomed to what we do and the culture of the high school,” Belin said.
After an extremely stressful and separating pandemic, the coffee shop will serve as a cultural reset for the students and staff of Huntley High School by bringing everyone together. Staff and students will be able to look forward to a new school year along with the new drinks and foods the coffee shop will offer.