Brahma Cafe is the new name of the coffee shop on campus after the Pierce College Student Store did not renew its contract with CSUN’s Freudian Sip Franchise when it expired in April.
The Student Store took down the old sign on Thursday, May 5, and put up a temporary Brahma Cafe sign. It is the only coffee house on campus with various drinks, and freshly prepared sandwiches.
Assistant Bookstore Manager Candy Van said they are waiting for the new logo to be approved by the legal department, and have put up a temporary sign in the meantime.
“We’re planning on changing the whole look,” Van said. “We’re moving forward.”
Shant Varazian, senior cashier at the student store is excited to be able to make more choices and not be limited to food and drink options.
“It’s nice to have something with the school name and school spirit,” Varazian said. “Hopefully we can get away from the other franchise name and see where it can take us. Now that we are in charge of everything we can be more creative and think of our own drinks.”
According to the Assistant Bookstore Manager Grigor Hogikyan, they are currently waiting for the new logo to be approved before they can purchase new furniture and appliances with the Brahma Cafe logo.
“For summer, we close at 3:30 [p.m.] and sometimes at 3 [p.m.], and we close on Friday,” Hogikyan said. “We don’t have enough employees to cover those [evening shift] shifts.”
There is no official date when the cafe renovation will be completed, but according to Hogikyan, their estimate is before the end of the semester.
“It’s not just because we decided to close early, when we review the sales, we find out that after 3:30 p.m. we’re not making profit because of labor,” Hogikyan said.
The fees the Student Store used to pay for CSUN’s logo is going to stay in the budget and help pay for the new logo, according to Hogikyan.
“We don’t have to pay any fee’s for it, it’s going to be a campus logo,” Hogikyan said. “More profit because we’re not going to pay the franchise.”
The campus is going to upgrade the furniture and appliances, as well as new computers, televisions and electronic message boards for menus inside the cafe.
“It would be easy for customers to see [the menu], and would be easy to update and change,” Hogikyan said. “We could put some pictures and partner with different departments to advertise.”
The generated funds that the student store has accumulated will be used to upgrade the cafe, according to Hogikyan.
“Once the logo is approved and all the furniture arrives, we’ll have a grand opening,” Hogikyan said.”
