Fordham students will manage a full-service cafe this fall in a joint venture with Saxbys, a Philadelphia-based firm known for its patented Experiential Learning Platform.
The cafe will open in September at the Lincoln Center campus in 140 West, in the garden-level space currently occupied by Argo Tea.
Wanted: A Student CEO
Saxbys, which bills itself as “an education company disguised as a coffee company,” will recruit students to run the cafe, including a “Student CEO” who will be responsible for all operations for a six-month term. In exchange for salary and course credit, the CEO will oversee 15 team leads and roughly 34 team members.
The first Student CEO will be chosen from the Gabelli School of Business, while successive ones will be drawn from throughout Fordham’s student body. The other positions, including team leads, will be open to all Fordham students from the start.
When the cafe opens, Fordham will join roughly 30 other colleges, primarily in the Northeast, that operate cafes in partnership with Saxbys. Fordham will be the company’s first New York City partner.
Contributed photo
“When people support a Saxbys, they’re not just getting a great product and a great hospitality environment. They’re supporting the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs,” said CEO Nick Bayer.
“These are really hard jobs with high expectations where young people are taking what they learned in the classroom, they’re getting a learning experience, and they’re coupling those two things together to go off and be great leaders.”
Saxbys arrival marks the second student-run coffee shop at Fordham, joining Rodrigues, located at the Rose Hill campus.
Argo Employees to Stay at LC
Since Saxbys is run exclusively by students, the current Argo employees will remain valued members of the Ram Hospitality team at Lincoln Center.
Saxbys Staples: Cold Brew and Grilled Cheese
The cafe will feature an expansive menu anchored by cold-brew coffee, grilled cheese sandwiches, and smoothies. Bayer said the expanded offerings will extend the appeal of the space beyond mornings when coffee and tea are in higher demand.
“We really want to continue to energize that space and make it one that people are excited to visit morning, noon, and night,” said Bayer.
New Kind of Experiential Learning
Vincent DeCola, S.J., assistant dean at the Gabelli School, said the Saxbys partnership will dramatically expand opportunities for experiential learning–a priority for the business college.
“They’ll be learning in real-time about supply chains, maintaining inventory, planning for the pricing, the placement of things, and promotions,” he said.
“It’s a terrific experience, especially in areas like marketing, entrepreneurship, and accounting.”
Because the Student CEO role will be a full-time position, DeCola said he expects those students’ course load to be adjusted accordingly. Credits will be applied from their time managing the cafe, and they’ll also be given the opportunity to take a night class.
He said he was encouraged by the fact that the arrangement has been successful at so many other colleges, including St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit school in Philadelphia. He noted that one of the supports that Saxbys offers to student CEOs is access to a group of former Student CEOs who they can turn to for advice.
“We anticipate that we can do this in a way that’s meaningful, and we’ll find things to improve each semester as we move forward,” Father DeCola said.
The Fordham community is invited to a tasting event at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Garden Lounge, on the ground floor of 140 W. 62nd St.
