The long-awaited venture promises coffee, snacks, and entrepreneurship opportunities.                    

By Mary Esposito ‘21

With the beginning of a new decade, Cary Academy welcomes the launch of the long awaited café, a welcoming space committed to fostering collaboration, creativity and productivity. Located in the library, it will serve as a learning lab for teaching entrepreneurship to students.

Within the café, there are many tables for collaborative group work. The centerpiece of the setup, however, is definitely the long wooden table that catches your eye as you walk into the library. Immediately you notice the gorgeously carved wood and the sleekness of its build, equipped to comfortably fit at least ten customers. Fashioned by a local Durham woodworker, Stephen Peters, using reclaimed wood from an old Person county schoolhouse (circa 1700s), the long table represents Cary Academy’s dedication to bringing together all kinds of people in the community for work, socialization, and collaboration. The steel frame fabricated by Mr. Peters aligns perfectly with Cary Academy’s neoclassical architecture, and the size and length of this table reinforces the school’s principle that everyone has a seat at the table.

The café isn’t just food and drink, although much of the excitement does stem from the variety of food and drink options available on campus. A group of community members have worked with Port City java, a coffee roaster out of Wilmington, NC, to create a signature blend of coffee to serve in the café. This blend will be the foundation of espresso drinks, frozen drinks and simple cups of coffee. But not only are there drinks, but there are also healthy food options. The Cary Academy café will serve as a place to grab a breakfast treat, mid-day snack, protein boost or supplement to lunch. Options include sandwiches, wraps and salads, as well as packaged snacks and healthy beverages such as infused teas.

What’s better than an exciting productive space for students? An exciting productive space that encourages these students to engage more as members of the Cary Academy community! Not only is the café a hotspot for food, drinks and seating, but it also is an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their talent. A corner of the café is dedicated to Cary Academy merchandise and other products available for purchase. Students who make art or other hand crafted products can apply to have their work featured in this corner and can gain actual business experience by selling through the school store. Students can even take their drive for business a step further than selling and become leaders in the café business model. Aiming to be student driven, the café will provide students the opportunity to make executive business decisions, such as scheduling and training staff. By taking advantage of these wonderful resources, students can gain real world business experience that will encourage and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

An amazing opportunity for students to learn, grow, and flourish, the Cary Academy café is the new hub for innovation and collaboration. Cary Academy encourages its students to own their learning, and the new café is the perfect place for students to explore the myriad of ways in which they can do so.