(Mackenzie Scott/DD)
On the ASU Downtown campus, summer is when most students return home to enjoy their summer break, leaving the campus and some nearby businesses empty.
On Monday, the Fair Trade Cafe located in the basement of the A.E. England building will reopen its doors to customers after closing on June 1, mainly due to the lack of customers in the summer.
Michele Lavis-White, 33, co-owner of Fair Trade Cafe, said this is the first time that the cafe has closed during the summer but that it was in the best interest of the cafe.
“Keeping it open puts the store in jeopardy of being closed beyond just the summer,” Lavis-White said. She said it was too costly to keep it open and that closing during the summer will save the business from losing money.
While the cafe is closed, it is currently undergoing renovations. When customers come back, they will notice that there will be a brand new decor and new hours to accompany it. The store will be open from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Another addition to the store will be The Sweetness, an ice cream shop that is currently inside Fair Trade Cafe’s other location on Roosevelt Street and Central Avenue. Lavis-White said that the location will also serve paninis and making juice.
“I’m a little surprised that they’re adding ice cream,” said Andrea Benesh, a healthy lifestyle coaching senior. Benesh said she usually goes to Fair Trade Cafe once a week during the school year, and appreciates that the new food options will add more variety to the cafe.
While customers await these changes, they have to find other solutions to their coffee fix. “I bring coffee from home,” said nursing sophomore Carla Perez, who went to Fair Trade Cafe twice a week.
Fair Trade Cafe is currently in the process of training their staff so they will be ready to go when students and faculty return from summer break.
“I’m open to new things,” Benesh said. “They have good food.”
Contact the reporter at mlscott5@asu.edu
