Students will have to wait for the openings of the Einstein Bagel store in Johnston Hall and the CC’s Coffee shop in Middleton Library that were supposed to open in time for the start of this semester. Dining officials said the construction of many stores have been delayed because of increasing costs and needed additional planning time – despite hopes of having new eateries on campus open by the end of this past semester. Construction on the Einstein Bagel store, scheduled to open in November, has not begun because the price of construction is nearly twice as much as planned, said Mark Kraner, director of contracted auxiliary services. The bagel shop will most likely be completed by spring break. Kraner said the office had planned to spend $262,000 on construction, but the lowest bid was $500,000, which he thinks was because of increased construction after Hurricane Katrina. Contractors are rebidding on the job. Kraner said he hopes for a lower price after the next bid. Kraner said once a price is confirmed construction will begin and will take six weeks to complete. Students will also have to wait to get a cup of coffee in the library. The proposed CC’s Coffee shop will not open until after summer break because the planning process has been extended to allow more groups on campus to have input in the design, Kraner said. Walls will be knocked out and part of the library will be closed, which must be done during the break, Kraner said. Construction was originally planned for winter break. The area will also include a writing lab and will participate in the Communication Across the Curriculum program, creating what Kraner called a “cybercafe.” The student technology fee will be used to supply equipment for the cafe. The money will be used to purchase new furniture for the computer lab area, said Stacey Morales, Information Technology Services manager. The office is also looking into purchasing three flat screen televisions, Morales said. The televisions will display a 24-hour news program, a campus program and another channel to be determined. The area will be “technology friendly,” with plugs and data ports as well as wireless Internet, Morales said. Heath Hattaway, a member of the Student Government technology fee committee, said members of the committee support working with contracted auxiliary services because they will be able to increase available technology without having to fund the renovations. “We can get our stuff in for free without having to pay for knocking down the walls,” Hattaway said. Samuel Fabre, marketing junior, said the additions will be convenient once they open, but he also said one of his marketing classes discussed problems with placing promotions close to academic settings. “You should keep your academics separate,” he said. “Where do you draw the line on how close you market things? If I were in [the library] and studying, it would be convenient. It’s the principle though.” Kevin McCarthy, marketing sophomore, said he does not eat on campus often but thinks a variety of stores would be good, instead of more coffee shops. “We already have a coffee shop, PJ’s,” he said. “I don’t know why we need another one.” Emily Strecker, animal, dairy and poultry freshman, said she is excited about the CC’s in the library.
“The delay really doesn’t bother me,” she said. “It’ll be nice when it happens, but it doesn’t need to be that big of a hurry.”
Contact Ginger Gibson at [email protected]