Following an extended period of income fluctation, the Associated Students-funded Grove Caffe reported a net loss of more than $10,000 over the last two months, prompting a number of A.S. councilmembers to question the merits of approving a hefty new funding request from Grove employees at last week’s council meeting.
The Grove’s request for $13,750 ‘mdash; which would fund a number of self-sponsored programming events ‘mdash; was initially denied at the meeting amid widespread criticism from councilmembers who called attention to the cafe’s continued failure to report any significant profit. The Grove is now an estimated $109,214 in debt, a figure that was compounded by the cafe’s substantial January setback.
Student employees from the Grove plan to attend next week’s council meeting to resubmit their request, this time with a comprehensive outline of the events planned for the cafe.
Associate Vice President of Finance and Resources Naasir Lakhani, who voiced his support for the measure at the meeting, said he feels the Grove should be given the opportunity to attract new interest ‘mdash; both for its own benefit and that of the surrounding Student Center community.
‘Some people just didn’t want to spend any more money on the Grove,’ Lakhani said. ‘That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because A.S. does a lot of programming in Price Center and a lot of programming in the colleges, and we give the student orgs money for p
rogramming ‘mdash; so why not have programming in the Old Student Center where it will not only attract attention to the Grove, but also to the co-ops and all the other businesses that are operating over there?’
Grove student manager Autumn Hays said that, if approved, the new funds would be used to host frequent events at and around the cafe ‘mdash; such as hookah nights, open-mic nights, comedy and art shows, live music and sports barbeques.
‘What we really want to bring UCSD is a great place to spend time, meet people and enjoy exciting events, coffee and the atmosphere of the Grove,’ he said. ‘The Grove has been at UCSD for over 23 years, and is a big part of our community.’
Hays added that the cafe has already sponsored a number of similar events throughout the year.
‘We hosted many at our cost so far this year, including bands, open mics, art shows, comedy nights and more,’ Hays said. ‘We want to continue this, but we need help on funding the events. None of the employees at the Grove want to see it go. We honestly love the place, and we are working hard to keep it alive and growing.’
A.S. Associate Vice President of Programming Garrett Berg sided with the council majority, expressing his disapproval of the funding allocation and asserting that the release of any programming funds to the Grove should be at least partially overseen by his department.
‘It doesn’t seem responsible to hand over another $13,000 to a business that has been falling deeper and deeper into debt,’ Berg said. ‘Because of this, the A.S. Programming office seemed like the most appropriate entity to oversee these events. We would of course work closely with Grove employees on these events, just as we work closely with the Loft curator.’
Berg added that if given authority to manage Grove programming funds, his department would work to develop attractions specific to the cafe’s atmosphere and interests.
‘Many of the events that the Grove staff suggested are duplicates of events going on elsewhere,’ Berg said. ‘My staff would work to bring unique events to the Grove to really drive attendance.’
A.S. Arts and Humanities Senator Sam Jung also rejected the funding request, reasoning that it would be innappropriate for the council to release the requested funds, given the Grove’s lack of a comprehensive plan for the events.
‘I didn’t find it responsible for me to vote for [the funding] when we put a higher level of scrutiny on student organizations that only get a maximum of $200 per week for their events, even with an itemized budget,’ he said.
In an effort to implement tighter council oversight of the Grove’s daily operations, councilmembers ‘mdash; in conjunction with Student Center officials and Grove management ‘mdash; established the Grove Advisory Committee last year, a body that has not once met in the last two quarters.
Meant to serve as a forum for councilmembers to touch base with Grove employees and to keep track’ of the cafe’s financial situation, the committee’s meetings have largely been replaced by informal correspondences between Lakhani, Grove manager Cleveland Thomas and A.S. Associate Vice President of Student Enterprises Chelsea Maxwell.
‘There’s still that connection between A.S. and the Grove, and there’s been that connection throughout the year,’ Lakhani said. ‘I know people have been critical of the fact that the committee hasn’t met, but for me, I think that the purpose of the committee is just to make sure that the Grove and A.S. are always in communication with each other. So there’s that communication between me and [Maxwell] and [Thomas].’
Jung said the council’s continued support of the Grove should depend on a greater understanding of the cafe’s place in campus history.
‘The council needs to have a comprehensive briefing about the history of the Grove and what led it up to this point,’ Jung said. ‘It needs to rediscover why the Grove was so successful in the first place, and try to get back to the roots of that success.
Jung added that his experience as a former student manager and longtime employee of the Grove has made him wary of the cafe’s current condition.
‘As a student who worked there when it was student run, before the construction, during the construction, during the time when A.S. tried to shut it down, and after when A.S. hired an outside manager I know that what made the Grove special was the atmosphere, the unique people, the welcoming environment,’ Jung said. ‘In short, it had that ‘it’ factor. Not a lot of that is there anymore, so if saving the Grove means converting it into a co-op, or at least making it student-run, or working with the Rady School of Management, I would be all for that. I know for a fact, though, that the Grove is not sustainable the way it is being operated.’
Readers can contact Reza Farazmand at [email protected].