Walk through HRTM’s heavy doors into the front lobby and turn left, following the wall’s bend. You’ll find a discreet passageway that leads to a small cave of a foyer, framed by a low archway. Turn your head to the right and you’ll see a glass door propped open to allow the intoxicating aroma of espresso and coffee beans to waft through the air.

Tucked inside this hidden nook lies a warm, cozy café with an abundance of natural sunlight. In the background, soft melodies alight from speakers and float on the wind breezing through the two back doors which lead out to a narrow patio lined by a brick wall. A winding stone stairway to the right leads beyond the patio to a small grassy hill that becomes the DU campus.

A student-run coffee shop on campus, Beans was first established between 2008 and 2009. According to David Corsun, director of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, there was a space within the HRTM building waiting to fulfill its potential.

“It was so rarely utilized,” said Corsun of the space where the student-run coffee shop now resides. “I had a vision for more and the students drove that vision.”

Nine students in his food and beverage entrepreneurship class decided to make use of it. Then associate professor, Corsun proposed a challenge to these young entrepreneurs.

“I said ‘Here’s the canvas, what should we do with this? You develop a good enough plan; I’ll invest money in it,’” said Corsun. One year later, $25,000 was invested up front in the exciting new endeavor to build DU’s first student-run coffee shop on campus.

After a difficult start and the continued support of the school, Beans has finally become a profitable enterprise.
“This year, Beans really turned the corner and is self-sufficient,” said Corsun. “But it takes time to get this kind of recognition across campus. And there are still a lot of people that don’t know it’s here.”

Beans provides their student employees with the remarkable opportunity to gain hands-on experience in running a small business under the guidance of experts at the School of Hospitality.

Although Beans was started by HRTM students and is particularly useful for the hospitality degree’s work experience requirement-every hospitality major must have 500 work experience hours and 500 internship hours – the Beans staff contains a diverse mix of majors.

“We’re all open to sharing our ideas with each other, brainstorming and throwing out ideas and implementing them for Beans as well as for Beans After Dark,” said Dario Ogaz, a senior from Denver majoring in communication studies, and Beans After Dark shift leader. “Because we’re not all hospitality or business majors, we have a diverse group of ideas and our staff has connections with people all over campus, so it works out pretty well.”

Beans After Dark, a weekly event that occurs every Thursday evening from 4:30 to 7 p.m., is a happy hour where guests can enjoy free, elegant appetizers and purchase wine at $6 a glass and beer for $5 a glass.The red and white wines are imported from domestic and international hot spots like California, Washington state, Spain and Italy. The beer hails from local Colorado breweries, boasting the locals’ skill in producing high-quality barley and oats.

Ogaz also books DU talent for Beans After Dark, recruiting jazz students or the Idiosyngcrasies’ a capella group for entertainment.

“Beans is student-focused with student employees and managers and student-led marketing, and we want to continue with that idea of student engagement,” said Ogaz. “The Lamont School reached out to us to see if their students could perform because it gives them a chance to show off their talents and skills.”

Along with the benefits Beans provides for students on campus, Megan Lloyd, a senior from Houston majoring in hospitality and the current manager of Beans, plans to extend these benefits of the small café to the globe. Lloyd and the Beans team are pioneering a globally-conscious business endeavor with Socially Conscious Coffee (SCC).

Under her leadership and the support of her staff, Lloyd has initiated a collaboration with SCC, a non-profit organization in Brazil that’s breaking the cycle of poverty and illiteracy in coffee harvesting communities by providing meals, clean water, education, health and career services.

Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and serving breakfast and lunch, Beans has been able to establish a loyal clientele.

“Beans really now has a following. Last year we had the beginnings of that but Beans has loyal customers now,” said Corsun.

Beans is planning its grand re-opening to be a week-long event during this month’s Earth week, which begins April 22. The week-long event will culminate on Thursday with the second-year anniversary of Beans After Dark. On this celebratory Thursday, a raffle will be held where participants will have the chance to win a year’s worth of coffee and tea from Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea.

The Beans management team along with Corsun, are planning to install a patio as well upon the grassy hill in the back of the café to give students more room to stretch their legs.

The Beans team ultimately strives to provide a place for the DU community that promotes laughter and connections.
“People come here all the time to have meetings-both faculty and students, and people get to know each other. It can be really crazy in here and loud, or during finals week, it’s really quiet because students are studying. It’s a central location for people to come and be more involved in the school,” said Lloyd.