Java What?

If you've ever wandered through some of the dorms on the University of Michigan campus like East Quad, North Quad, or South Quad you have probably run into one of the "Java Blu" cafes tucked in a corner somewhere near the normal dining hall. You might have only seen it out of the corner of your eye or just barely registered the bright blue neon signage  with the word "Java" in fancy, loopy script. These "Java Blu" cafes are part of the University of Michigan's "retail" dining operations and are considered separate entities from the normal dining halls most students think of when they think of on-campus dining. I've been lucky enough to have  been a part of South Quad's Java Blu for the past year and half as a Student Manager after it opened  last August with South Quad's grand re-opening.


And let me tell you, that first year was rough. We struggled those first few months trying to figure out what students wanted to eat and drink. We knew they often only had a couple of minutes in between classes, so we wanted to create a menu that was quick and appealing to the masses. We were also in direct competition with all of the fast food options in the Union directly across the street from us. These restaurants took quite a bit away from out potential profits. With South Quad mainly housing freshmen, we also struggled with visibility within the student body. Most of the students didn't even know we were in the building! They certainly didn't know what kinds of foods and beverages we were offering.


By far, our biggest problem that first year was our lack of unique food and beverage options. Last year was the first year that all freshmen came in with an unlimited meal plan. As a "retail" dining unit this meant we were then faced with even more competition from the traditional dining halls. The fact that we served the identical coffee and the identical sandwiches that students could get in the dining halls was debilitating to our bottom line. Why would a student pay $7.49 for a sandwich they could have made to their exact specifications in the dining hall for just one of their endless meal swipes? Why would they pay for a cup of coffee if they could swipe in and get as much coffee as they wanted from the dining hall? Even our cookies were the same kind of cookies you could get from the dining halls! Our product line made no sense, and as soon as students took enough notice of us to find our location within the building, so too would they realize that it made much more financial sense to just skip us and go straight to the dining hall.

We learned in that first year that it all came down to product differentiation. We needed to offer a completely different product line than students could get from the regular dining halls. We had to make it worth while to spend that extra money out of pocket for our products (Angell Lecture). This year, we are opening with a brand new menu that will include items like higher quality coffee with flavors like French Roast and Hazelnut. You certainly can't get that in the dining halls. We will also be offering completely new sandwiches that use ingredients (specifically bread) that you cannot find in the regular dining hall within South Quad. Along with these changes we have also paid attention to the kind of products students will often go out and buy themselves off campus. Because of this we will be offering donuts from Washtenaw Dairy (a favorite around the Ann Arbor Area) as well as muffins and bagels from local bakeries.


The hope is that with this completely unique product line, so
different from that found in the traditional dining halls, we  will actually be able to turn a profit and set ourselves apart from traditional dining. These next few months will really be an indication of the year's success (or failure) and it will ultimately be up to the students whether we succeed or fail. So come on by and visit! Try our new products and if you don't find something you like or want let us know! It's all a learning process and the only way we can become the kind of convenient cafe students want is for students to TELL us what they want. As our target market, University of Michigan students have the most pull in what we do or don't carry. We rely on suggestions and requests to make sure we carry just exactly what the on-the-go student wants in between classes, and will continue altering and improving the menu and our offerings throughout the year to accommodate these!

So stay tuned to see how we go about coming back from such a rough start last year. We came out of the gate swinging so hopefully we can sustain the momentum during this school year and become bigger and better than we imagined!

For now, and forever, Go Blu! (Java Blu...)