Bowling Green State University (BGSU) students and staff said they are both upset and excited after Forhan’s Cafe is no longer serving Starbucks products following a student-led survey.
The cafe, located in the Maurer Center, home to the Schmidthorst College of Business, previously offered a “We Proudly Serve” Starbucks program, which permitted the cafe to serve Starbucks coffee products in a location other than a traditional Starbucks setting up until the beginning of the 2024 fall semester, which began Aug. 26.
Jon Zachrich, the director of marketing, communications and technology for BGSU Dining, said the decision to change products was based on a research study conducted by Madalynne Chapman, a recent BGSU graduate who surveyed students as part of her honors thesis about how Forhan’s Cafe could be improved.
“The research results focused on a few things, including expanded food menus, smoothies, bakery items and other cafe-style items. Each of these items are things Starbucks ‘We Proudly Serve’ would not allow us to do contractually,” Zachrich said.
As a result, Forhan’s Cafe switched to serving Crimson Cup Coffee and Tea products.
Out of the 153 people who completed Chapman’s survey, 31.9% of respondents said expanded bakery items are one of the additional products they would like Forhan’s Cafe to offer.
Similarly, only 43.1% of survey respondents said they were satisfied with Forhan’s mobile ordering options.
In addition, Zachrich said bubble tea was one of the main products survey results showed students wanted.
“Crimson Cup provides us with far more menu flexibility and allows us to do a boba tea program, even though that is not a normal part of their business,” said Zachrich.
Zachrich also said listening to feedback was one of the main reasons for the decision.
“With all of this data and information, the BGSU Dining team moved forward with these changes for a variety of reasons, but the biggest was to provide a new and expanded experience at Forhan’s Cafe based on those student requests,” Zachrich said.
Kayla Hall, a senior film production major and Forhan’s Cafe employee, said some customers have been hesitant about the change in coffee.
“It’s an adjustment for people where they’re like, ‘Oh, Crimson versus Starbucks,’ but I haven’t heard anything bad once they actually try it,” said Hall. “A lot of people are more nervous to try the new coffee than trying Starbucks, so I think a lot of people are more apprehensive.”
For some customers, they are satisfied with the change.
“I personally like Crimson a lot better than Starbucks, so I’m pretty happy about it,” said Kelsey Murphy, a second-year English education major.
Cheryl Bracken, the director of the School of Media and Communication, said she knew of the change and was excited to try the new products.
“I think it’s good to have variety on campus,” Bracken said. “I was excited to see that there was a non-Starbucks option.”
Bracken said she is not only excited to see another option, but said she’s heard students are as well.
“Students have said they were glad to see a non-Starbucks option, and that they felt in some ways, it was a response to some pressure coming from some student groups,” she said.
Other students said they’re not as happy with the change.
“I did really like Starbucks,” said sophomore architecture major Kyle Byrd. “I was a little disappointed coming in here at first.”
Byrd is not the only one disappointed by the change.
Kaitlyn Manz, a third-year human development and family science major, said while change is good, she misses her favorite drinks.
“We were known in the business building as the ‘off-brand Starbucks,’ and I kind of miss all my drinks and how they were originally made,” she said.
Despite the change, Manz said she will keep coming back to Forhan’s Cafe.
“I’ve only had Crimson Cup once, but I was willing to give it a try again. Not a lot of things that they do is completely different from Starbucks drinks,” said Manz.
Though there has been a lot of change in the cafe, Zachrich said he hopes students will give Forhan’s a try and perhaps find a new favorite menu item.
“We are currently trying to source a new, local bakery for this year, but are also exploring making the donuts ourselves,” Zachrich said in response to where the cafe’s pastries are coming from. “Our team has been testing and experimenting with a donut machine to make them fresh on campus.”
With the recent change from serving Starbucks to Crimson, there are now three Crimson Cup Coffee locations on campus and one Starbucks location.
Forhan’s has also expanded their hours until 6 p.m. For a complete list of Forhan’s hours, visit BGSU Dining’s website.
