Cornell Dining has chosen a primary retail vendor to replace Starbucks products and café items on campus starting the summer of 2025 and will be announcing the vendor soon, according to a University spokesperson.
When asked to name the vendor, how soon the vendor will be announced and for additional information about the retailer, Cornell Dining declined to respond.
Starbucks closed its Collegetown location in June 2022 and the two remaining Ithaca locations in May 2023 following engagement in repeated illegal anti-worker efforts. On July 6, 2023, and Sept. 13, the National Labor Relations Board ordered the locations to reopen, ruling that the closures and failure to bargain with unions were unlawful.
An NLRB ruling stated that Starbucks punished Cornell students employed at specific chain locations in Ithaca who were advocating in favor of unionization. Among multiple violations committed by Starbucks, the coffee chain denied students leave over academic breaks during the unionization process.
Members of the Cornell Student Assembly proposed Resolution 1 on May 11, 2023, which encouraged the University to terminate its partnership with Starbucks. Additionally, student organizers and Starbucks employees protested in Day Hall urging Cornell to end the partnership. In agreement with the S.A., the University made the decision to break the contract on July 31, 2023, two years before the contract was set to expire in June 2025.
In her response to Resolution 1 on May 17, 2023, former president Martha Pollock wrote “We commit to starting a review of the contract and consideration of future vendors by Fall 2024, almost a year prior to the contract’s expiration,” and explained that Cornell Dining and the Student Assembly Dining Services Committee would collaborate in “conducting due diligence before determining the next contract.”
Throughout Spring 2024, Cornell Dining worked in tandem with the Student Assembly Dining Services Committee to decide on the vendors, according to Danielle Donovan ’25, an undergraduate student representative on the committee and a main organizer of the Starbucks off-campus movement.
The decision was made “after a year-long process that involved input from and collaboration with student groups and campus partners,” Cornell Dining wrote in a statement to The Sun.
While students and workers at dozens of universities have protested through the Starbucks Off Of Our Campus movement, Cornell remains the only university to follow the movement of their students.
Nick Wilson ’26, a former Starbucks barista and leader in the campaign to end Cornell’s partnership with Starbucks, said that Cornell’s commitment to ending its partnership with the company is “something the students should be proud of.” Wilson is also a Sun columnist.
As students await the announcement of the new vendor, some expect a period of adjustment for on-campus café frequenters who enjoy Starbucks products.
Lauren Byun ’27 said that while the end of the Starbucks partnership will be a change for some, the important thing is simply having coffee on campus.
“I think other students definitely do enjoy Starbucks coffee and cafe items, so it will be an adjustment,” Byun said. “But with other brand options for cafe and coffee items, it will be fine. It isn’t necessary for me to have specifically Starbucks coffee as long as there are coffee locations on campus.”
Hermione Bossolina ’25 pointed out that student reactions to the new partnership will depend on the vendor selected by the University.
“Copper Horse in Mann [Library] and Martha’s [Café] and Peet’s in Café Jennie are both great options,” Bossolina said. “In terms of the unique seasonal drinks, students will probably miss that a lot.”
As the campaign’s objective comes to fruition, Wilson acknowledged “Cornell’s willingness to uphold social responsibility in this instance.”
“Universities are a hub of a lot of economic power, whether it’s the investments they hold or the institutional legitimacy that especially elite institutions — like Cornell — command,” Wilson said. “That kind of power can be mobilized for good and in the fight for labor rights.”
Shannon Lee ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].