After weeks of intense deliberation that consumed two A.S. Council meetings and drew impassioned response from dozens of concerned students, the drawn-out Grove Caffe debate came to an end last night after the council voted to keep the eatery’s doors open indefinitely.
At the 2008-09 council’s final meeting, cafe advocates and opponents argued over the Grove’s role as a student enterprise, the value of its 24-year history on campus and the risks associated with allowing the cafe to remain open into next year.
Currently over $120,000 in debt, the Grove has been a point of contention among councilmembers since becoming a fully student-owned enterprise in 2007.
Following nearly three hours of discussion, the council voted nine in favor and 12 against a piece of legislation that would have ceased the cafe’s operations beginning June 30.
Grove student manager Thomas Frank, who attended last night’s meeting to offer his input, said he looks forward to working closely with the new council ‘mdash; which will enter office next week ‘mdash; on maintaining a profitable business model for the cafe.
‘One advantage to this long, drawn-out process is that now I know people on A.S.,’ Frank said. ‘Now I know how to contact people ‘hellip; now I can show up whenever I want and propose ideas about the Grove for them to discuss.’
Throughout last night’s discussion, councilmembers referenced the Grove’s performance over the last year as an indicator of its future sustainability. The cafe’s combined losses of over $35,000 since July drew vocal criticism from many who feared that profits would continue to dip.
Associate Vice President of Programming Garrett Berg proposed an amendment to the legislation calling for a reworking of the Grove’s business model, saying the cafe would continue to fail if its current model is sustained.
‘I think it’s going to take a really long time to come up with a solid plan that doesn’t mirror everything we’ve tried in the past,’ Berg said.
However, Frank and Vice President of Finance and Resources Naasir Lakhani pointed to the Grove’s recent profit of over $1,000 for the month of April, asserting that the cafe’s current business model is sustainable. Lakhani also said the Grove will see increased profits once nonstudent manager Cleveland Thomas leaves the cafe in June, eliminating the position’s $50,000 annual salary.
‘We would’ve made $12,000 this year without the salaried manager,’ Lakhani said.
Incoming A.S. President Utsav Gupta, who opposed the legislation to cease Grove operations, said he will work with the cafe’s managers to devise a new business model and ensure that the eatery develops a customer base.
‘I have to make sure that we do make the Grove profitable, that we do make the Grove a more active place,’ he said. ‘Part of that is going to be using a new business model, using a student-run business model to reduce costs, but that’s not enough. It needs advertising initiatives, it needs to get out there, and that’s going to be an effort of both the A.S. Council and the Grove.’
Readers can contact Reza Farazmand at [email protected].