As of two weeks ago, Jitters Coffee Cart started serving two brands of coffee
The Lane Hall coffee shop has served Starbucks coffee exclusively for several years, but, just before Thanksgiving break, they began providing Cadillac coffee, the brand found in A.J.’s Café and Knorr Family Dining Hall.
Saga Inc. added the additional coffee brand after students voiced concerns to the college administration about Starbucks’ ideological leanings. The Seattle-based coffee company donates money to Planned Parenthood and in September, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz requested that patrons not carry concealed weapons into its stores.
After Schultz released his open letter, sophomore Anna Pfaff, a member of Students for Life and the competitive shotgun team, met with senior Nathan Brand, president of Hillsdale’s chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom. The two then talked with Dean of Women Diane Philipp about the possibility of serving a coffee brand besides Starbucks at Jitters.
“The gun control thing was not the reason that we did this – it was more of a catalyst,” Pfaff said.
Pfaff also took issue with Starbucks’ financial support of Planned Parenthood.
“Word got around that YAF is going after Starbucks because of their support of the LGBT community, which was wrong,” Brand said. “That wasn’t even brought up when we talked to the dean. It was more of the guns and the pro-life issue that were a concern.”
Philipp looked into Starbucks’ relationship with Saga Inc. and found that Saga does not have a contract with the coffee provider, meaning that changing providers was possible.
Saga’s General Manager Kevin Kirwan said students asked Saga to bring Starbucks to campus years ago.
“Starbucks was all the fad at that time and, quite honestly, was one of the first coffee companies that said, ‘We’re going to do things right,’” he said. “They wanted to have free trade and make sure their coffee was organically grown and that sort of thing.
“So it was a very positive situation with Starbucks, and it came about because of students.”
Philipp spoke with Kirwin and he decided to provide an option for students who wish to avoid drinking Starbucks coffee. Kirwan directed Jitters student workers to serve Cadillac Coffee, the brand that is served in A.J.’s, and continue selling Starbucks.
Cadillac has not, however, sold well at Jitters.
“It’s probably at least 100 to one,” Kirwan said, referring to the ratio of Starbucks cups sold to Cadillac cups. “Starbucks continues to be more popular over there.”
Poor sales of the new coffee aside, Jitters will continue to serve both brands until further notice.
