BY: MORGAN KILGER, FEATURES EDITOR
In between her classes or studying, Sophia Lanzalaco, a junior strategic communications major, heads to Café La Verna for a refreshing and energizing beverage. Recently, Lozalaco has noticed fall-flavored menu additions.
Lozalaco said she’s ecstatic about enjoying her favorite drinks again during this fall season.
“They’re delicious,” said Lanzalaco. “They really bring on the fall vibes and make me feel cozy.”
At St. Bonaventure University’s on-campus café, seasonal beverages are offered similar to those served at Starbucks. Students and staff love drinks when they hit the menu and mourn when they leave.
Drinks, including the pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin cream cold brew and apple crisp macchiato, are amongst the most popular according to students.
Lanzalaco’s favorite is the pumpkin cream chai latte, and she said she rarely switches drinks.
“Occasionally, I switch it up depending on how much caffeine I need that day,” said Lanzalaco. “If I do, I still always go for the pumpkin cold foam.”
Starbucks provides the beverage recipes and items since La Verna is a Starbucks affiliate.
“Café LaVerna is a We Proudly Brew Starbucks location that follows Starbucks franchise guidelines. All drink selections and recipes are provided by Starbucks,” said Nicole Clark, Aramark’s general manager.
Nick Posella, a junior finance major, said he likes that the drinks served on campus are similar to those served at the Starbucks that recently opened on West State Street in Olean. He doesn’t feel there is a need to change the recipes.
“I think the safer option should be to stick to the Starbucks ingredients,” said Posella.
Although La Verna has a limited menu, that doesn’t stop Lozalaco from getting her favorite drink within a ten-minute walk from the Garden apartments. However, she said she feels that the ingredients could be stocked better.
“The few [drinks] that are missing [from the menu] are not affecting me because I’m loyal to my pumpkin cream chai,” said Lozalaco. “However, I have noticed that there’s been multiple times I’ve been to La Verna, and they’re out of it. I feel like we should know. [We] should start using statistics to figure out how many of these we are selling and restock inventory accordingly.”
With the choices, Lanzalaco and Posella said they think students should have a say in what drinks are and aren’t on the menu. Posella said he thinks a survey based on student reactions would be beneficial.
With the pricing, Lozalaco believes the pricing is too high.
“The prices are definitely on the higher side. I would like to see them go down, especially since I purchased the same drink from the Starbucks in Olean, and it was cheaper there,” said Lozalaco. “I thought [that] was interesting, because that’s a real Starbucks.”
The fall menu is set to end in November, where it will be replaced with winter drinks. Lozalaco, like many other students, said she will be disappointed about their departure from the menu.
kilgermi22@bonaventure.edu
