Espresso cart will remain on campus

Auraria agrees to honor lease;  vendor still predicts struggle

By Rob Larimer
The Metropolitan

The aroma of Higher Grounds Espresso will fill the halls of the South Classroom for two more semesters.

Auraria officials said potential vendors who were bidding to take over the coffee and sandwich cartâs space were denied, so Auraria could honor the cartâs lease.

Eleven companies were interested in the cafe space as of July 28. An Auraria Food Service Committee then had to decide on a vendor.

The committee rejected other biddersâ offers because none of them could meet all of its requirements, which included lower-priced food items, a rotating menu, long business hours and hot entrees, said Barb Weiske, director of Campus Auxiliaries.

ãIâm pretty pleased with what (the committee) came up with,ä Weiske said.

Leah Johnson, 26, who operates the cart in the South Classroom, was notified in May that her lease would expire Aug. 17 because Auraria was looking for a vendor who could offer extended hours.

Her lease was origionally to extend until June 1998.

But students rallied to save the cart. Johnson collected over 400 signatures from her regular coffee cohorts, urging Auraria to keep the cart.

Weiske said Johnsonâs ouster was part of a decision to end leases for both Higher Grounds Espresso and the nearby South Side Cafe. Auraria was looking for a larger vendor that could occupy both spaces, Weiske said.
Johnson said sheâs happy with Aurariaâs decision to honor her lease, but she said her contract, which was a three-year lease, originally had the option of three 1-year extensions.
These extensions are no longer an option.

ãWhat weâve worked so hard to build is going to be torn down,ä Johnson said. ãWhen fall and spring semester students find out Iâm being asked to leave (after two semesters), there will be a lot more student concern.ä
Johnson said regaining the extension option will mean another battle with Auraria ÷ and possibly more rallying from students to keep the cart. She said during the fall and spring semesters she should be doing five times more business than in summer.