Following the SSMU Student-Run Café Competition Expo on March 14, SSMU’s Strategic Summit last Friday, March 23 addressed issues surrounding the student-run café, set to launch in September 2013.
In this preliminary phase, the planning committee primarily aimed to continue gathering as many ideas from students as possible to ensure a truly student-oriented, interactive café. Once there have been sufficient consultations and preparations, the committee will begin construction of the café in 2012.
While the planning committee will be adopting the design and business plan of the Fireside Café, the team that won the SSMU Sustainability Case Expo, co-ordinators are still looking to incorporate as much student feedback as possible.
“The purpose of [the] Strategic Summit is to engage students in the planning for a student run café,” SSMU VP Finance and Operations Shyam Patel, leader of the planning committee, said. “We hope to get more feedback [and] ideas in an interactive way. Instead of just asking [students] what [they] think, we want to make it more bi-directional. This is really important because it’s going to be in the SSMU building and it’s going to provide job opportunities to students.”
In this meeting, moderator Flint Deita provided participants with five main topics to brainstorm: (1) Who will manage the student-run café? (2) What food items will be included in the menu? (3) What do students want to see in the café? (4) How will SSMU finance the student-run café? (5) What sort of ambiance do students want to see in the café?
Many ideas immediately surfaced, leading to a lively group discussion.
“I was hoping for more people, but enough people showed up to give us enough feedback on the project,” Deita said. “A lot of people are interested in offering their ideas, but of course a lot of them are not here and I’d love to see more come out in the future.”
Despite the small number of attendees, the committee was brimming with ideas, proposals from the recent case competition, and multiple recent consultations. Some of the most popular ideas included student managers to oversee the entire operation, casual meals made from sustainable and seasonal products, and a rentable space for performances or other events. Students also suggested blackboard-like walls for random artistic or promotional drawing and a well-lit and vibrant ambience that avoids being crowded or overly boisterous.
“This project has captured a lot of the students’ imaginations and is really exciting, but we still have a lot of work to do in terms of figuring out the specifics,” SSMU President Maggie Knight said. “We have gotten to the point where we have talked a lot about the issue and have gotten a lot of feedback. We have to soon make a decision as to what it’s going to look like and how we are going to do this.”
In terms of challenges, the committee responsible for the new student-run café is seeking to ensure financial sustainability. The administration, according to Maggie Knight, is currently reviewing the project. However, there are still concerns that the new café may face the same challenges as the Architecture Café or Haven Books, student initiatives that were closed due to financial difficulties.
Fortunately, although the possibility of financial failure still exists, the committee is being careful to avoid similar mistakes.
“We’re doing this so early mainly because of failed operations of the past,” Patel said.
In the near future, there will be a contest for naming the café and the committee encourages students to participate.
“Personally, I love this project and I love the idea of a student-run café, which I think is a great way to make people more social and to give more power to the students,” Deita said.
