In my first meeting for the Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Learning Community (CIE LC) my professor told me that some students had an idea last year about opening a cafe in DellPlain Hall. He told the class that if there was anyone interested in bringing that idea to life, we could meet up with some students from the Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club). Naturally, this is what I did. In addition to the 4 people that showed up, two older students, Justin and Harley, told us that thy were looking for managers, supervisors, and general employees. I wanted to be behind the scenes on this project so I signed up to be a manager. Just like that.
Justin, an E-Club sophomore, watching his idea become reality (reading the menu)
Being a Manager
Now you just can't have a title that easily. You have to EARN it. I took my position pretty dang seriously. I spent many an hour collaborating product ideas into a physical menu, brainstormed and organized student artwork for decorations, and went through intense managerial training. It was hard work, but definitely seeing everything come together was worth the labor. Being a manager also entails communicating SO MUCH with the other managers. Also, delegate, delegate, delegate. Not everything is your responsibility. Take advantage of other people's skills.
Training
The managers and general employees were trained by the head of Food Services, Sue, for two days regarding food safety, sanitation, and procedural stuff. I was blown away by all the background work. Oh yeah, we also made recipes for ice cream sundaes. The coolest thing about opening a cafe at Syracuse University is that if you need something, you'll get it instantly because 1, the school is STACKED and 2, everyone wants you to be successful so they are willing to provide the resources to do make sure things happen.
Alex and a Double Scoop with Brownie
The deli
The view from the eating area
NACHO CHEESE
Hikari and Alex, managers
Sue teaching us... everything
Making menus in the iSchool
Me and Jay on our soft opening day
We had a soft opening for the Breezeway Cafe on the 20th. The eating area isn't very visually appealing, since the walls are blank (it looks like a jail), but we served about 98 people and made a larger profit than expected. Major win.
Things are going quite well for the Breezeway Cafe. We have a mural design (made by Sarah!) that's going to be put up next week. Justin and Harley are very please with how fast everything progressed, and now we have an entirely student-run business on the ground floor of DellPlain. People have been raving about the milkshakes, and they have also written suggestions out in our official suggestion box. Next week, the managers are going to get together and discuss things we can improve on and how we can b-dazzle the cafe for our grand opening next week.
Why This Project ROCKS
This is what colleges mean when they say "hands-on" experiences. It's one month into school and I'm the head of a student project that is actually very legit. Students in CIE LC and the E-Club come up with an idea. Those ideas can't go anywhere unless there are people that support you. SU has your back for finances and resources. You just need your staff and student support. This is a community working together with so many different interests and skills to create something amazing. I love being a part of this cafe. Justin told us that our group was the best group he's ever worked with when it came to carrying through. The entire managerial staff is consisted of freshmen. C/O 2016, bruh!
By Sarah Collins
(http://sarahcoart.weebly.com/artwork.html)
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