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What happened to CCU’s Starbucks Truck?

Coastal Carolina University’s Starbucks Truck, one of three in the nation on college campuses, is coming back and should be in operation by Wednesday, Oct. 22, according to Jeff Stone, director of food service operations for Aramark.

The truck will actually return to campus on Oct. 14 after spending time in Indiana getting “re-outfitted” to meet standards, Stone says. But a week of training will be needed before the traveling store moves. A staff of 13, including some student workers, will be trained to get certified as baristas.

Coastal will join Arizona State University and James Madison University, the three colleges selected to participate in a pilot program with the mobile java trucks.

The truck’s weekday schedule will begin at University Place from 7 to 11 a.m., then Prince Lawn from noon to 4 p.m. and back to University Place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Weekend hours will be different, says Stone, with Starbucks and the Rowdy Rooster partnering at night. The truck will take all kinds of payment from cash to credit cards, dining dollars and CINO cash.

The trucks will help Starbucks reach a coveted demographic, according to Business Week: “College-age students love coffee. More young adults are turning to coffee, rather than caffeinated sodas, as their pick-me-up of choice,” reported NPR. In an Aramark survey of its college customers, 47 percent said they want to purchase something from a specialty coffee or espresso cafe, and Starbucks was the No. 1 preferred brand for coffee.

On campuses, coffee represents about 18 percent of Aramark’s sales, the company says. That’s higher than in the fast-food industry overall, where coffee chains represent only about 9 percent of sales.

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