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MSU campus could see new cafe open nearby

February 21, 2012

If everything goes according to plan, a different take on the traditional coffee shop and cafe will be making its way to East Lansing later this spring.

Pennsylvania-based New Perspectives Cafe is planning to open up a new kind of coffee shop that will use customer input to decide menu items and other features of the shop on April 16 at a location within walking distance of MSU’s campus.

Business owners plan to determine a potential site for the East Lansing location in the next two weeks, New Perspectives Cafe President Jon Stewart said.

The local shop will be part of a series of simultaneous openings of 30 coffee shops in college towns across the country.

Other planned restaurant locations include areas near nine Big Ten rivals, including the University of Michigan, the University of Nebraska and Indiana University.

East Lansing Community Development Specialist Heather Pope said the city has not yet been contacted by New Perspectives Cafe owners regarding a potential location.

The business is expected to operate using a tactic called crowd funding, which allows customers who purchase a membership to vote on and decide aspects of the cafe, Stewart said.

“We’re primarily targeting college towns — we feel that our concept has the most appeal to those particular areas,” he said.

According to the company’s website, a membership for the MSU location is expected to cost $50.
The period for buying a membership starts Friday and will end March 16.

Once members register online, they will receive emails regarding polling options geared toward food products to feature on the menu or fundraisers for the shop to hold, Stewart said.

Planned menu items include several coffee and tea varieties, as well as bakery items and aged cheeses, Stewart said.

“Obviously, it’s a different concept,” he said.

“We think we offer a lot more user control over the experience they have.”

Polls related to menu changes are expected to be sent out about once a month, Stewart said, while polls related to larger events, such as theme nights, will be sent out less frequently.

Kinesiology senior Carley Zimmerman — who was enjoying coffee at Starbucks, 401 E. Grand River Ave., on Tuesday afternoon — said she would go to the cafe to try out the crowd funding option even if it was near Starbucks, but said she isn’t sure if other students would try it.

“I think it’d be pretty cool … because it would be a variety of flavors from a lot of different viewpoints,” she said.

Angela Anderson, the owner of Red Cedar Cafe, 1331 E. Grand River Ave., said depending on the location of the new coffee shop, the impact on her business might be minimal, especially if the business is closer to downtown.

Anderson said despite New Perspective’s business model and its plans to open across the nation, her business also has a unique advantage in the city.

“I think that people like to support local, independent business owners,” she said.

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