The Grove Caffe is expected to turn a profit in June 2008, according to its manager, though the A.S. Council enterprise has nearly tripled its debt since last year. (Will Parson/Guardian)

The Grove Caffe’s debt has nearly tripled just one quarter
after reopening with an updated product selection and new external manager.

The cafe, an A.S. Council enterprise, seemed to have hit
rock bottom last year when the council considered shutting it down. However,
after extensive talks with Grove employees and supporters, the council decided
to hire external manager Cleveland Thomas to help with the cafe’s
then-about-$24,000 financial woes.

But as of January, the debt had ballooned to more than
$66,000, with much of the loss incurred between September and November 2007.
The Grove, which was steadily losing money for more than five years, was closed
at the start of the school year and reopened in the middle of Fall Quarter.

“In order for the Grove to be reopened, [Thomas] needed to
change many necessary things, including bringing many aspects of the Grove up
to code,” said Chelsea Maxwell, A.S. vice president of enterprise operations.
“A large majority of the increased debt has been a result of this work.”

Maxwell said Student
Center construction has been an
added strain on the Grove, but that her office plans to overcome the hurdle
with increased publicity. While Thomas agreed that construction has presented a
sizable problem for the cafe, he said he believes publicity won’t solve the
problem.

“Expanded publicity won’t have a positive affect on the
Grove until the Student Center
remodel is completed and students return on a regular basis,” Thomas said.

Because of such construction complications, increased patronage
to the Grove will likely be delayed,
though the cafe was originally expected to be out of debt by June 2009, Thomas
said.

He added, however, that he expects the cafe to begin turning
a monthly profit by June 2008.

“I think that due to the construction and accessibility of
the old Student Center
as a whole it’s going to take all of those businesses more time to regain
financial stability,” Thomas said. “I will say that the Grove is very close to
doing so in just a few months. So, there are no ongoing financial struggles.”

The A.S. Council, which now carries sole financial
responsibility for the Grove after prior co-owner Ron Carlson liquidated his
ownership last year, has decided to wait until construction finishes to make
any major decisions for the cafe’s future.

“The numbers aren’t looking very good right now,” A.S.
President Marco Murillo said, indicating he would like to be able to assess the
situation before the end of the year to give the incoming council a
recommendation. Thomas’ contract is for only one year, he added.