Point Perk officially dropped Starbucks’ products provided through the company’s We Proudly Serve program on Monday, August 26.
Point Perk, which first opened in 2018, updated its menu to include pizza, paninis, wings, and Bison Chili instead of strictly breakfast items.
The new menu items are covered by Flex Dollars included in students’ meal plans.
Dean of Students Keith Paylo said the main reason behind the menu change was a student survey held over summer break by Assistant Professor of Business, R. Hagen Starz.
Starz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Paylo said the survey gave the administration the idea to change from the “We Proudly Serve” model to another concept that would allow for longer hours of operation
“We’re changing the concept from being a coffee shop to more of a cafe,” Paylo said.
Under the We Proudly Serve program, Point Perk closed at 5 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and at 4 p.m. on Fridays. With the new changes, the cafe could stay open as late as 10 p.m., according to Paylo.
Because most of the equipment in the We Proudly Serve model was sourced from Nestlé Distributors, Starbucks’ parent company, it was all taken out in mid-August and replaced with new equipment.
There was only one exception: an espresso machine.
Sophomore Mia Cicconi said she was disappointed with the new menu’s lack of drink choices.
“I understand the reasoning behind why they wanted to change it,” Cicconi said, “but I do think that students really enjoyed having multiple drink options.”
Paylo said he was aware of the lack of espresso.
“We have already started to talk about that,” said Paylo. “Many things are still on the table.”
“If we have a number of requests that say, ‘Wow we’d really like to have some of those espresso drinks back,’ well then it’s our role to do everything in our power to bring them back,” Paylo said.
SGA’s new administration also played a significant role in the decision to drop Starbucks.
“With [Starbucks’] lack of support of Palestine and their anti-union policies, we and a lot of other students weren’t coming in here,” Kyle Maclaughlin, a senior political science major and President of SGA said, “We weren’t using the space because we were boycotting Starbucks and we didn’t want to give money to a place that sourced their product from Starbucks.”
Paylo said there was no financial or political reason behind the removal of Starbucks.
Clifford Greenfield, a cook at Point Perk, said he came to Point Park with the new menu.
“[The reception] has been pretty positive so far,” said Greenfield, “It’s doing pretty good right now.”
“Point Perk is an incredible space for students to come and hang out,” Mia Martinez, a senior psychology major, said, “I love all these new improvements on food and dining, the space is really gonna bring a lot more students in for socialization and good food.”
Originally, the name for the Point Perk was selected by the Student Affairs office in 2018 by a student named Tiffany Walker.
Paylo said he is looking to run a similar contest to change Point Perk’s name again.
“It’s not Point Perk anymore,” said Paylo. “I have been getting names unsolicited already, which is great.”
Although he didn’t mention the specifics, Paylo said that he’ll be offering another prize for whoever selects the winning name. The contest to rename the Point Perk is to begin this week.
Paylo said, “I know change is hard sometimes — of what we’ve had for so many years — but yet change in my mind in some ways that’s progress.”
