Gabrielle Davis

Reviewing the marketing research survey, senior Blakely Gibeaut looks at the data to determine the student run coffee shop name. A school wide survey concluded that 32 percent of students were interested in working at BlueBrew. “I think it [the coffee shop] will be a good way for students to get involved at school and it provides a way for people to get real life work experience,” Terry said.

A school-run coffee shop is becoming more of a possibility as plans are made for a soft opening of BlueBrew, the winning name for the shop, second semester.

“Parkway Central High and Parkway North High have opened coffee shops in their schools and the feedback has been that it provides an authentic transfer of lessons learned in business and marketing classrooms,” business teacher Holly Weber said. “It will allow West High students to have an in-house internship option where they can gain communication, time management, teamwork, business and marketing skills.”

Results from the school wide survey that went out in October showed that 65 percent of the 644 respondents were ‘very excited’ about the addition of a coffee shop at West.

The opportunities in the business aspect of the effort are exciting in that it is a real life business, and I believe students will be able to learn a lot from that experience,” Principal Jeremy Mitchell said. “I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor.”

BlueBrew will be located on the second floor hallway in the area to the left of Dr. Mitchell’s office. The coffee shop will be run by business and marketing interns and will raise money for Day of Service and West Chest.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out and how it is going to look and just how successful it is going to be because we have been putting a lot of work into it,” DECA leader and marketing student, junior Madison Terry said.

Terry has been working closely with Weber to plan and prepare for the trial period.

“We are still working through many of the details, like securing a vendor, finalizing our menu and prices, designing and decorating the coffee shop space, and training our staff,” Terry said.

If the soft opening is a success, BlueBrew will officially be launched Fall of 2018. The hours of the shop are to be announced.

“We hope to build buzz about the coffee shop, gain feedback on what products will sell well, gauge inventory estimates, and determine the best pricing and staffing,” Weber said. “In addition, we hope an introduction to the coffee shop will entice our student community to get involved.”