by Alyson Rimsha
Daily Lobo
A new Starbucks is moving into Zimmerman Library, but the associate dean of University Libraries said the project is still brewing.
"We know it's happening," Fran Wilkinson said. "Plans are being looked at, but we are still waiting for things to be finalized with Starbucks."
Carol Scott, retail operations director of Aramark, said a full-blown Starbucks is in Zimmerman's future, but a completion date has not been set.
"When you are working with so many people, it's difficult to finalize plans," she said.
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She said she hopes the new shop will be up and running by the start of the fall semester.
When the Starbucks is built, she said, it will be bigger than the one in the UNM Bookstore.
Mai Sakamoto, a bookstore Starbucks employee, said adding another store to campus will be a positive thing for students.
"It would be good for people who have class over by Zimmerman," Sakamoto said.
Sakamoto also said the library Starbucks is rumored to move into the convenience store that will be inside the entrance of the building.
Scott said there is talk of replacing the Starbucks in the bookstore with a lounge area and a big-screen TV.
The store operates in the bookstore's hours, and Sakamoto said the move will result in longer hours of operation.
"We were told, if we moved, we would open very early - 5 a.m.- and stay open very late, maybe to midnight," she said.
Loriann Gallegos, manager of the bookstore Starbucks, said the move was delayed because of plans for the addition of a store in Zimmerman.
"We don't know when the move will happen," Gallegos said. "We were told the Zimmerman store will be done first."
UNM student Lindsey Moser said she never uses the Starbucks at the bookstore, because it's an inconvenience.
"I love Starbucks, but it's too time-consuming to put your bag away in a locker just to get coffee," she said.
She said that although she does not buy coffee from Bookends, the coffee shop in the library now, she would visit a Starbucks in Zimmerman Library often.
"If it were a Starbucks, I would buy coffee there three to four times a week, just because it's Starbucks," Moser said.
UNM student Sara Davis said Bookends is generic, and Starbucks has better coffee.
"I don't even think about getting coffee in Zimmerman, and the bookstore is too far," she said.
Trudi Housel, a Bookends employee, said the Starbucks addition offers her opportunity.
"This is good for me, because it will bring job security," Housel said.
Scott said she does not know how long Bookends has been in the library, but Starbucks will take its place upon its arrival.
Housel said she will be the daytime manager of the Starbucks and expects business to increase.
"People are asking for it," Housel said.
Scott said the Starbucks will occupy the empty Friends of the Library Shop and the raised seating area in Zimmerman.
"We are real hopeful and would like to see it done by Aug. 23, ready for the students when school starts," Scott said.
