Senior Eric Mikutel has a passion for helping improve LHS food service and making students’ lives easier. This week, he introduced his senior project: the cafeteria coffee bar.
The coffee bar currently offers caffeinated and decaf coffee, as well as hot teas and hot chocolate. There is a wide variety of flavors offered to add to drinks including French vanilla, English toffee, chocolate, amaretto, hazelnut, and Irish cream.
Mikutel hopes to add more options for flavors soon after taking some student surveys. An assortment of sugars and cream are also provided.
“I do 100%,” Mikutel said. “I do all of the ordering, pricing, and designing the set up of the bar itself.”
All drinks are one size of 10 ounces and cost $1.50. In the future, Mikutel hopes to get an ice machine installed, which will allow him to offer students and faculty iced coffee drinks, iced teas, and lemonade. There are also plans being made to switch to Styrofoam cups and introduce larger cup sizes.
Other possible future investments include an espresso machine, as well as darker and lighter roasts. The current roast is a house blend that has medium strength.
“I think it’s great that we have a coffee bar and all these new options,” junior Aleksandra Moskal said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Mikutel has worked at the Dunkin Donuts by Home Depot for three years and was inspired to use coffee as his senior project this year to gain some experience in business management.
“I wanted to do something with food service,” Mikutel said. “Mrs. Venezia is my mentor. She helps me figure this all out and come up with ideas for how we can improve.”
The products at the coffee bar are ordered from the Donahue Brothers Inc. The company supplies everything and donates all of the machines for no charge. They are also going to donate a hot chocolate machine for free.
In addition to working with the cafeteria, Mikutel plans to team up with the school store by possibly selling mugs and thermoses with LHS logos on them. This would allow a refill option to be available for a low cost at the coffee bar.
“There is no reason to be late to school because you’re stopping for Dunks,” Mikutel said. “We offer a cheaper price than Dunkin Donuts for the same quantity and you can get your whole breakfast here.”
Mikutel is also brainstorming some future specials he may offer such as morning breakfast discounts or half-price days and also possible taste-tests during lunches.
“I think it’s been a success so far,” Mikutel said. “We have already doubled in sales since the first day.”
