By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – A popular coffee shop is coming to the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.
Barista’s Daily Grind will open Monday inside West Center, giving students, faculty, staff and community members a new on-campus option for coffee, specialty drinks and food.
The Kearney-based business is taking over the space previously occupied by Brewed Awakening, a student-run coffee shop operated through the UNK College of Business and Technology. This partnership is designed to improve the operation’s long-term sustainability while maintaining the educational opportunities that were a key part of Brewed Awakening.
“The goal is to create interdisciplinary opportunities for engagement,” said Sara Bennett, director of UNK’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development. “By bringing Barista’s Daily Grind to campus, we can strengthen the experiential learning mission of the coffee shop and create more opportunities for students to engage with a real business while enhancing the overall operations and experience for customers.”
For Barista’s Daily Grind, which operates two drive-thru locations in Kearney, the campus space provides an opportunity to become more closely connected to the university community.
“Leaving our previous location adjacent to campus was incredibly difficult. We had been there for 18 years, and there was so much history and emotion tied to that space,” said Jasmin McGinnis, co-owner of Barista’s Daily Grind. “At the same time, we’ve learned that even being right across the street can feel like a long way from campus when you’re asking busy students to leave between classes.
“Having the opportunity to actually be part of UNK allows us to meet students, faculty and staff where they already are instead of working so hard to bring them across the street. We’re incredibly excited to become part of the daily rhythm of campus life and see what this next chapter of Barista’s looks like.”
The West Center location will be open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, following the UNK schedule. Those hours could be expanded based on demand.
The menu will feature Barista’s espresso drinks, energy drinks, brewed coffee, cold brew, teas, smoothies and other specialty beverages, along with a smaller food menu tailored to the campus location. Online ordering will be available, along with delivery throughout campus and air pot orders for larger groups, offices and special events.
The coffee shop is open to the public, with two 30-minute parking stalls on the east side of West Center available for customers.
Barista’s joins Starbucks as an on-campus coffee option. Starbucks is located inside the Nebraskan Student Union.
Educational Mission Remains
Although Barista’s Daily Grind will handle the day-to-day operation, UNK students will continue to have opportunities to gain hands-on business experience through the coffee shop.
The partnership shifts the space from a fully university-supported, student-managed enterprise to a private-operator model with defined academic engagement. This model builds on Brewed Awakening’s role while adding the expertise of an established local business.
“The academic connection is important because the coffee shop has historically served as a student incubator and experiential lab where students can learn by doing and, in turn, translate classroom concepts into real-world practice,” Bennett said. “The partnership with Barista’s allows us to maintain that experiential learning space while reallocating UNK staff support to mission-driven initiatives.”
Barista’s will provide professional training and mentorship while contributing to academic opportunities such as workshops, guest lectures and interdisciplinary collaborations. Students can remain involved through paid employment, structured internships and coursework, gaining exposure to areas such as retail finance, marketing, supply chain and operations management.
As Barista’s settles into its new campus location, McGinnis said the business will pay close attention to how students, faculty, staff and other guests use the space. That could eventually lead to expanded hours, including later afternoon and evening service.
“We’re really looking forward to getting the doors open and seeing how people use the space,” McGinnis said. “We have ideas for what the UNK location can become, but we also want to listen to the campus community and let their needs help shape it.”
