Maybe it was your favorite place to study? Your daily pick-me-up for a caffeine break? A meeting spot to catch up with friends? Or the place that had your favorite sandwich? 

The cozy feel of the small cafe, located on the academic side of campus next to the Leavenworth building, gave a welcoming feeling to every student that walked in.

But on April 30 it was announced in an email that the Coffee Cottage would be closed for the rest of the spring semester and in a subsequent email it was announced it wouldn’t re-open.

The closure left some students, staff and faculty disappointed. 

“I think it is so important to have a place on this side of campus for students to get a quick bite and a caffeine boost in between classes when not having enough time to go to Fireside,” said Britt Green, director of the McNair Scholars Program, who has an office above the Cottage.  

So, why did the perfect little coffee shop close? 

“There were not enough customers to keep it running, and when it was open there wasn’t a big announcement so not a lot of people were aware,” said student Emily Macias, sharing what she had heard around campus.

Jamia Danzy, VTSU dean of students, said that’s exactly the case.

“Coffee Cottage had been losing money (over $20,000). While a discussion of closing for Spring 2024 came up, we wanted to try to make it work first,” Danzy said in an email interview.

She explains how Coffee Cottage updated its décor, added new menu items, and even offered more healthy options. The changes were made to try to get it to make money. 

However, during the Spring 2024 semester, Coffee Cottage lost another $8,000, she said. 

Danzy then shared how her supervisor, Kelly Beckwith, and Assistant Vice president for Campus Operations Mike Stevens both agreed that given the unsuccessful efforts to turn the Coffee Cottage around, it was wise to close it for now. 

Has Fireside been affected as a result of the Coffee Cottage closing?

Danzy explains how after looking at the data from the Coffee Cottage over the spring, it revealed that 65% of transactions were for smoothies. As a result, smoothies and meal specials are now offered in the Fireside Café.

But Fireside is now operating without its likeable former leader, Jim Stewart, who left his position after the spring semester. 

His loss is being felt by students and staff. 

When Green was informed about Stewart leaving, it looked like she could have almost fallen out of her chair in shock. 

“He is such a nice guy, I can’t believe he left. He has been here for YEARS!” she said.

Green also spoke about how weird it seems to have no Coffee Cottage under her office 

“I will be sitting up here in my office and I can hear people walk in assuming it’s open only to then hear a big follow up sigh and an ‘Ah man, it’s closed!’” Green said. “It is a beautiful space and building, so I hope they can find something for it.” Green added.  

Danzy said discussion are in the works to best use the now-vacant space.

“We hope that it is used for student programming and Sodexo has offered to work with interested parties to arrange to have food there,” she said. “I hope to engage the community in making the best use of Coffee Cottage. Staff and faculty responded to the email I sent and there were volunteers who wanted to be a part of the decision making. I also hope to include SGA as a representative for the student interest in the future of the space. I am hopeful that the Castleton community will fill the space based on community interest and needs.”