By Julia Grimaldi

Most students were aware of the construction to transform the Java City in the McFarland Student Union Building’s Bear’s Den to a full brand-name Starbucks. Though some students protested the idea of a new Starbucks because of their dedication to Java City, as of August 25, the new Starbucks is officially open.

To make room for the new Starbucks, the One Card Office alongside the Bear’s Den was removed. It now resides in the Academic Forum.

Though students have been able to purchase Starbucks products for a while now, this Starbucks is different than the one in the Academic Forum (called the Academic Grounds). The Starbucks in the Bear’s Den is owned by the Starbucks name, while the Academic Grounds only offers “proudly brewed” Starbucks brand coffee.

“[The Starbucks in the Bear’s Den] is a full retail Starbucks operation that offers the same products as other retail locations around the country,” said the Director of Housing, Residence Life and Dining Services, Kent Dalquist. This Starbucks will serve nationally known specialty drinks and will provide a larger selection of food items than the Java City that it replaced.

Although the Starbucks in the Bear’s Den will have a much larger product selection than the Academic Grounds in the Academic Forum, the corporation comes at a cost.

At the Academic Grounds and Java City, students with meal plans can swipe their favorite drinks as a meal. However, swiping items as meals will not be offered at the new Starbucks in the Bear’s Den. Students with meal plans will only be able to use their dining flex. Alternatively, bear bucks, cash and credit cards may be used.

For the first part of the fall semester, the university is running a promotion for students that use dining flex dollars at the new Starbucks. “They will get a 10 percent credit back to their dining flex dollar account of every dining flex dollar spent at the new Starbucks in the Bear’s Den,” said Dalquist.

Though some students will miss the old Java City in the Bear’s Den, the new Starbucks is certainly a satisfying replacement.​