Located in the Tilley Student Center, Brewvita is a popular student-run coffee shop.
Brewvita started out as an eight-year dream among members of Enactus, a student-run entrepreneurship club. The original business vision was for Brewvita to be a mobile coffee shop mounted on a bike. Anna Grace Maples, who graduated in 2022 with a degree in entrepreneurship, was one of the students who brainstormed the idea with Enactus.
“They really wanted to have a student-run coffee shop,” Maples said. “They didn’t know where to put it. They didn’t have any coffee experience to know where was best.”
By 2022, Maples had six years of experience running her own coffee business called Campfire Roasters in Kentucky. She was originally contacted about becoming an investor for Brewvita, but with her valuable background she became a founder.
Brewvita was working with Sodexo to get the on-campus coffee bike approved when space for a permanent shop became available in the Tilley Student Center. By April of 2023, Brewvita was approved for the space, and in August the coffee shop officially opened for business.
“We’re going into our fourth year, and the best part of this is the people who are seniors now were freshmen when we opened,” Maples said. “It’s been really fun and sweet to be like, ‘okay, all four classes know us now.’”
Brewvita’s team members, coined the “Brew Crew,” are a large part of the student customer experience.
“The thing that stands out to me the most about Brewvita is just kind of, like, the smile that everybody has when you go up and order,” graduate student Ethan Shirey said.
Brewvita’s team culture is something Maples actively works to create. Once a month, the team meets outside of work for a bonding event such as a game night or photoshoot. Connecting after hours strengthens the team environment behind the counter.
Senior Aubrey Hughs, a barista at Brewvita, said being on the team has been a positive experience.
“I’ve gotten a lot of work experience but also know what it’s like to work with a good work culture where if I make a mistake, I know that they’ve got my back. It’s been a blessing.”
Brewvita has grown considerably in its three years of operation. The business continues to beat its highest sale numbers and now sells bags of closed coffee at Montview Market.
Closed coffee, which Brewvita uses for its drip coffee, is grown by a family in a country that is closed to the gospel.
“The family that grows the coffee, they are Christians, and they share the gospel with their workers,” Maples said. “We don’t say where the coffee’s from because we want to protect the family and the Christians there.”
Selling closed coffee is how Brewvita supports missionaries as a Christian business. Maples’ dream is to travel to the closed country with members of Brewvita, meet the family that grows the company’s coffee, and witness the ministry they are doing on their farm.
Brewvita’s business model is unique because it is predominantly run by students. Employees from all different majors get experience in their field by lending their skills where they are needed.
Brewvita’s marketing is run by strategic communication students, and the weekly payroll is submitted by accounting students. In turn, Brewvita gives 50% of all profits back to Enactus, so the club can start other businesses.
Senior Ella Novakovich said her role as head of Brewvita’s communications team taught her how to apply what she’s learned in the classroom. She aspires to start her own business one day, and working at Brewvita has taught her about what it takes to run a company.
“Brewvita is a good experience of not having the responsibility of starting your own business but getting to see how it works behind the scenes,” Novakovich said.
Quam is a feature reporter for The Liberty Champion.