Stormy Brews Closure, Reported to Reopen

The closure of the campus coffee shop, Stormy Brews, has been puzzling students since the beginning of the school year. Many students have used the café in the past as a place to study, catch up with friends, and get a snack or drink, but Stormy Brews has been vacant for nearly two months.

Stormy Brews café | Photo by Georgia Earls

Rumors have been circulating regarding the reason for the unexplained shutdown, including a widespread story that the cafe was serving food without the proper food handler’s license. However, Oglethorpe’s vice president for Student Affairs, Meredith Raimondo clarified that the closure of the café “has nothing to do with reported concerns on food services,” and that the café will reopen eventually.

Stormy Brews closure sign | Photo by Rachel Spooner

The reality is that the store’s business license expired, and the process to renew it has been lengthy. Raimondo said, “Stormy Brews technically could serve coffee at this point  in time, but since the business license has not been renewed yet, it would be illegal to accept payment.” David Durden, the director of campus dining has been "working tirelessly" towards getting  the license renewed.

According to Raimondo, the renewal process has taken so long due to a number of reasons, including old paperwork being lost. Since the coffee shop in the Turner Lynch Campus Center (TLCC) has undergone many alterations over the years, some documents necessary to apply for the license renewal could not be used due to small factors such as name changes. A long-standing member of the faculty shared that the coffee shop used to be operated  by Starbucks, but switched to Dancing Goats Coffee. 

Stormy Brews seating area | Photo by Rachel Spooner

The campus coffee shop has been a staple of campus life here at Oglethorpe with it being  a part of the TLCC since its opening in 2013. The closure has caused dismay among many students, with one junior saying that they are “severely disappointed that getting the café back has taken this long.” Other students are frustrated with the fact that the “Munch Money” allocated to Petrel Passes can only be used at Stormy Brews café, and with the café out of operation, this money is rendered useless.

Although the task of renewing the store’s business license has been extensive, as of  Sept. 18, Raimondo stated that the cafe is “very close” to reopening and that it could  potentially reopen “in the next few weeks." She also added that David Durden has a lot of “exciting plans” for Stormy Brews once it reopens.