Todd cafe receives new espresso machine donation

Farmer Brothers Company will provide coffee shop with weekly supplies

ELAYNE RODRIGUEZ, Evergreen reporter

The cafe located in Todd Hall hopes to provide more efficient services and quality after a new partnership formed with the Farmer Brother Company.

Before receiving the donations, the only four machines they had were breaking one by one, which resulted in slow service, Atrium Cafe Barista Bree Ask said.

The Farmer Brothers Company bought out the cafe’s original supplier, Ask said. The company reached out and offered to donate new machines to the cafe.

“I was on the management team, and we met with four representatives from Farmer Brothers, as well with [James] Harbour,” she said.

Ask said the process of getting new machines from Farmer Brother Company gave the cafe an authentic look and now feels more like a coffee shop.

“It definitely has been a positive aspect of sales,” Ask said, “as well as marketing and the professional image of the hospitality program.”

James Harbour, clinical assistant professor of hospitality business management, said he decided to follow through with the new technology being installed in the Atrium Cafe.

“It allowed the crew members to have a more realistic experience of making coffee and preparing,” Harbour said. “It was too good to pass up.”

Ask said the new machines release a fresh bean scent, as opposed to the old machines.

The company saw a popular cafe stand and wanted to contribute to our success, Ask said. Farmer Brothers will continue to provide the cafe with supplies once a week.

“Farmer Brothers wanted to build a relationship with us,” Ask said.

The machines will be able to produce drinks faster and increase our revenues, Harbour said.

“People want to get a drink in between classes in that short amount of time,” he said. “Our ability to accommodate more people with a small amount of time definitely benefits our success.”