A new coffee house will open in UW-Madison's Memorial Union as early as summer 2008, the university announced Tuesday.
Peet's Coffee and Tea plans to move to the former ground floor location of STA Travel, which re-located to State Street in November 2007.
According to Amanda Green, Wisconsin Union Directorate vice president, a Spring 2007 survey asked students to identify criteria they would like to see in a coffee house on campus.
Using the nearly 3,000 responses, a committee looked at vendors who met the criteria, Union Communications Director Marc Kennedy said.
Everyone was really adamant about having a coffee house that was environmentally friendly, had organic and fair trade choices and used sustainable packaging, so that's something that we put a lot of weight on,"" Green said.
Peet's competed with other companies during the selection process, such as Starbucks Coffee and Caribou Coffee, but Green said the product quality, upscale atmosphere and flexibility to work with the Union made it the best overall candidate.
Dan Cornelius, a member of Union Council, the governing body of the Wisconsin Unions, said the detailed training process for Peet's employees is also a plus. Employees will primarily be students.
According to Green, the architects plan to hold forums with students to discuss the design aspects they would like to see in the building.
Cornelius said the arcade on the first floor would be taken out to make room for seating in the shop, and multiple entrances would be built, including an exterior doorway.
Green said Peet's would be open until 1 a.m. at the request of survey respondents. He added that this semester will be the first in a few years that Memorial Union and Union South will be open for 24 hours during finals week.
A priority for the Union, Cornelius said, is to provide a variety of late-night student options other than drinking, and he believes the coffee house would help.
""It will be great for the students because it gives just another option right on campus for a place to go and study and to hang out,"" he said.
Union employees expect the shop to open by summer, but said it could open as late as the fall semester.
Peet's is a California-based company with 116 stores nationwide, according to a statement. This will be the company's second operation in Madison, in addition to its first location at the Sundance Cinemas in Hilldale Mall.
