A Saxbys will open in Speakman Hall, which houses the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management on Wednesday. The new location will be operated entirely by Temple students.
This is the second Saxbys store on Main Campus and is part of the Saxbys’ Experiential Learning Program, which places college students at the helm of the company’s restaurant operations.
Senior tourism and hospitality management major Julia Maass will lead the team of 60 students at the new location as the cafe executive officer. She will not only act as a supervisor, but will also be involved with creating a budget, meeting sales projections, managing employees and analyzing the restaurant’s profit and loss statement.
She will earn 12 credits toward her senior internship experience at STHM after accumulating 600 hours leading the shop. Other students can complete a junior internship as baristas at the new location. These students will serve customers and maintain the cafe.
“This is one of the best opportunities that I will be given, being able to run a cafe, and I love coffee, so it all works out,” Maass said.
Jeremy Jordan, an associate dean in STHM, said this will be a pivotal opportunity for STHM said this will be a pivotal opportunity for STHM students.
“This experience for Julia will be very important as she prepares for her career in the hospitality industry,” Jordan said. “Similar to programs we have with other organizations, this management-in-training program with Saxbys will offer Julia and other students who work at the cafe an opportunity to gain real-world work experience and put into practice many of the things that are taught in our academic program.”
“A lot of people in their careers may not get the opportunity to manage 60 people at once,” said Reed Longo, Saxbys’ Experiential Learning Program manager. “Julia’s getting that at 22, which is going to give her incredible career preparation.”
The cafe will feature artwork by current and former Tyler School of Art students, including pieces by master’s of fine art candidate Destiny Palmer and 2009 studio art alumnus Mat Tomezsko.
Longo said that he hopes the restaurant will quickly be able to find ways to support the local North Philadelphia community, but no specific plan has been released yet.
Greg Galiffa, a Saxbys content manager, said this new store will allow much more space for students than its other on-campus store on Liacouras Walk near Polett.
“It’s going to be a really great hub to invite those students who normally don’t come into Speakman to come in, hang out and enjoy the space,” Maass said.
This marks the fourth Experiential Learning cafe that Saxbys has opened, with two locations at Drexel University and one at Millersville University.
The company is set to expand the Experiential Learning Program to multiple universities along the East Coast.
“Saxbys has been a presence on campus for such a long time and students know us,” Galiffa said. “And for us to build upon that partnerships, and bring in something that we successfully had at other universities, to bring it to Temple is such a milestone for us, and we’re really proud of it.”
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