The new Rich ‘N’ Pour Cafe and Lounge, located in Rich Hall, will host its grand opening event on April 11 at 11:30 a.m. 

Rich ‘N’ Pour is unlike any other restaurant or cafe on campus because it is entirely student run, with its own board of directors composed of 11 business students attending SUNY Oswego. Board members called the cafe “the largest group project they’ve ever been a part of.” 

The students involved expressed that they find the experience very meaningful to themselves and their careers. “[Being] given the responsibility to open an entire business with a group of people that are in the exact same shoes as me builds my confidence so much for the outside [business] world,” Sales Executive Amy Krohl said. 

Not only is this café an opportunity for students to work on campus and gain real world experience, it opens up new avenues for SUNY Oswego itself. 

“This project is the first time ever, from the school of business, that is hands on experience,” Finance Executive Eason Lee  said. “There is a lot of responsibility for us to represent ourselves and auxiliary services, and it’s going to change our school … It will improve our teamwork, and I think it’s going to be a huge project not just for this semester, but future semesters too.” 

Sadie Kent of the Human Resources department reflected on how this is not only an employment opportunity, but that it will be a draw for incoming and current students. “I haven’t heard about this in any other school, and I think that they [other students] are going to be attracted to this kind of project and want to do it.”

While the project itself is classified as a 400-level class, the board members described that it feels different from any other class they have ever attended. With the hands-on approach that this class has taken, it is more akin to a genuine business operation.

“How many people at 20 years old can say they were the head of an HR department or head of the marketing department?” Krohl said. “It’s almost like we were thrown in the deep end in a good way.”

Rich ‘N’ Pour is located on the main floor of Rich Hall, where the old Wall Street Café stood, which did not reopen at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year. Wall Street served Starbucks products, but Rich ‘N’ Pour has taken on a different approach by selling Finger Lakes Coffee. Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters is a coffee distributor based in Victor, New York, and is a fan favorite of Western and Central New York natives. Sarah Stratton, a sales executive, happens to have connections with the owner of Finger Lakes which jump-started their process in selecting them as their coffee vendor.

“Finger Lakes has wanted to work with Oswego for a couple of years now, so they were extremely thrilled that we reached out,” Stratton said. After reaching out to four other coffee suppliers, “Finger Lakes ended up being the best out of all of them,” Stratton said. “The overall taste and price of the coffee was better than all of the other options.” The students also remarked how good it is to work with a company that is willing to work so closely with a student business like this. 

Krohl commented on how networking with Finger Lakes has been seamless, stating “I just think that … you have to make sure you network with the right people and you’ve got people that have your back.” The board continued to comment about how the sales representatives from Finger Lakes visit the shop often, and that has made the process smoother and easier to handle.

In addition to a ribbon cutting ceremony on their Grand Opening, Rich ‘N’ Pour will be giving out free Rich ‘N’ Pour t-shirts to the first 50 customers that attend the ceremony. Alongside the t-shirts, all drinks will be a dollar off in celebration of their opening day. This deal only lasts from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but they have planned many promotional deals for the coming weeks. 

Rich ‘N’ Pour also plans on expanding their menu once they are open for a few weeks, adding in-house lemonade, refreshers, and grab-and-go food items. For more information, follow @rich_and_pour on Instagram. 

Photo provided by: Dominic Perrone