Calling all coffee lovers: On Monday, construction began for a new coffee bar in Peirce Dining Hall. Construction, which is scheduled to take around eight weeks to complete, is at the front of the main floor atrium. The space has been blocked off from students as work commences to make an official space for coffee machines.
The Peirce Hall coffee station moved to the atrium in 2020 in an effort to lower the number of students in the servery. This was primarily a COVID-19 mitigation strategy, and it reduced congestion with the rising number of students attending Kenyon.
Plans have been in the works for years to build an official coffee bar in Peirce, according to Project Administrator Alex Johnson. “[The atrium coffee station] was only meant to be a temporary solution until we were able to work through the design, permitting and material procurement process,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian. “We finally were able to obtain all the necessary items and are now able to move forward with construction of the new “Peirce Coffee Bar.”
Ryan Summers, the resident director of AVI Fresh at Kenyon, explained that the relocation of the coffee bar will create opportunities for other projects in the atrium. “It will free up space in the atrium to put some seating to hopefully ease seating congestion in Thomas [Hall] and [the] Great Hall a little bit,” Summers wrote in an email to the Collegian. Celestino Limas, the vice president of student affairs, added that the space is expected to be a different atmosphere from any of the other seating spaces in Peirce Hall.
The new coffee bar is projected to use many of the same coffee containers and machines that are presently available at Peirce — now located in the servery, Peirce Lounge and atrium. In addition, the plan is that AVI will continue to partner with Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea so that students will get the maximum fulfillment of their coffee needs. Currently, Crimson Cup offers Kenyon many blends of coffee including dark roasts, light roasts and decaf. The company also visited Kenyon last semester with free coffee and fun flavors such as gingerbread and raspberry.
Alex Johnson asks that students appreciate construction boundaries and follow any other instructions that are posted during the completion of the project for students’ own safety and wellness. Any clubs, offices or other organizations that have scheduled tabling to take place during the time of construction will be moved to the side wall adjacent to the Great Hall.
Updates about construction and more information about the project will be sent out once more construction has occurred.