By SARA GIBONEY
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney’s student-run coffee shop, Brewed Awakening, has a new location in West Center.
The coffee shop, previously located in the Health and Sports Center, opened Monday.
Brewed Awakening has added soups and sandwiches to its menu. The coffee shop hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“We wanted to expand our offerings because in West Center students have classes all day. We wanted to provide lunch options for those students,” said Abby Rhodes, a senior business administration major and manager of Brewed Awakening.
Rhodes said the shop hopes to establish a regular customer base of students, staff and faculty in the new location.
“It’s a market opportunity. This is an entrepreneurial experience, and they are moving ‘home’ to the business college where the student board of directors, managers and staff will be closer to advisers,” said Shawn Kaskie, director of the Center for Rural Research and Development and Enactus adviser.
Brewed Awakening currently has five employees. The coffee shop now features booths, high top tables and chairs, and chairs with attached desks – amenities that were missing at the former location.
Brewed Awakening is operated by students, while a student board of directors makes strategic management decisions.
“This is a great applied management and leadership experience for our students,” said Kaskie.
Brewed Awakening opened in the UNK Health and Sports Center in 2012 by the student organization Enactus, a nonprofit organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve quality of life and standard of living for people in need.
Proceeds from the coffee shop fund Enactus projects, including a rural grocery revitalization initiative, a campus-wide sustainability plan and New Venture Adventure, an outreach program aimed at area high schools.
Brewed Awakening recorded nearly $14,000 in sales in the 2014-15 academic year, and just over $9,000 in 2013-14. The coffee shop earned $7,000 profit in the 2014-15 academic year.
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Source: Shawn Kaskie, 308.865.8135, kaskiesc@unk.edu
Writer: Sara Giboney, 308.865.8529, giboneys2@unk.edu
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