1 year after opening, IMU Starbucks still packed

After more than a year of service, the Indiana Memorial Union Starbucks remains packed. New customers continue to flock to the coffee shop, despite the constant crowds. \nEven as Starbucks’ stock drops nationally, Steve Mangan, the general manager of dining services at the IMU, said the location continues to see about 6,000 customers a week.\nIMU officials are looking for ways to help curb the crowding issues, but because of Starbucks’ popularity, solutions are limited.\nFor many customers, the casual environment is what draws them to the couches and tables inside. Graduate student Erin Corber said she goes to the IMU Starbucks about four times a week to study, to talk to friends and to write. She said it often offers a space to relax in the middle of campus when she’s “going stir-crazy.” \nBruce Jacobs, the interim executive director of the IMU, said the Starbucks in the IMU should provide a “third place” for people on-campus. He said the first place is the home or the dorm, the second place is school or work and the third place should allow a comfortable place for recreational activity. \n“It creates an environment where people can meet people,” Jacobs said. “And whether it’s in an academic environment or a social environment, it’s just so people can hang out with friends.” \nAlthough Starbucks customers agreed it is a good place to meet up with friends and study, they aren’t planning to make new friends while waiting in line.\n“I like that there’s a big place to study here,” said graduate student Melanie Brezniak. “I don’t like that it’s so crowded all of the time.” \nCorber said while she enjoys the atmosphere of Starbucks, there are many times when the restaurant is “too busy” for her to use the space for studying or writing, or even to get a cup of coffee quickly. \nJacobs said the Union brought Starbucks in to produce greater traffic in the part of the IMU surrounding Alumni Hall. \nWith too much success too fast, there are now issues about what to do with the overflow Starbucks has created. \nIn warmer seasons, seating might be added to the Solarium to better disperse the crowds, but Jacobs said there is no room to expand the Starbucks in that area of the IMU. \nJacobs also said many people still use the IMU Starbucks as a “grab-and-go,” which continues to alleviate some potential seating problems. \nMangan said there are currently no talks about making the Starbucks open 24 hours, like the Starbucks on Indiana Avenue. He said even though the IMU Starbucks sees about 6,000 customers a week, many of them come around lunch time Mondays through Thursdays.\nUnless the Starbucks sees more customers in the evening hours, its hours of operation will remain the same.\n“The fact that people love this space so much might point to the fact there should be more communal study spaces around the central part of campus,” Brezniak said. \nStarbucks has become its own community on campus with its own distinct environment, Jacobs said. And for those reasons, he said, its business might be an indicator that more places in the IMU should be converted into space for students to relax. \nThough students said their chief complaint with the Starbucks is the cramped feeling during its rush hours, not many solutions came to mind easily.\nBrezniak said the only solution she could think of to lessen the density of the crowds is to “make Starbucks less popular.”