One of my last stories for feature writing required us to fully embed ourselves in the narrative, observe our sources in their daily lives, and explore a different way of writing. I chose to follow the Meantime Coffee Co. president, Alex Henson, during his shifts.
Funding Social Justice Groups, One Coffee at a Time
Published on Dec. 6, 2023
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Meantime Coffee Company is pretty busy this morning. It’s 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. There are about 20 people in line, wanting something to fuel their day.
Patiently taking everyone’s orders is Alex Henson, this year’s CEO. He has dark brown wavy hair pulled back into a bun and a grey hoodie that reads, “University of Strasbourg.” Strasbourg is a very prestigious French academic institution known for its research and for being a hotbed during the Enlightenment period. I asked him later if he had any ties to the school, and shaking his head, he said, “No, just really like the school.”
Henson and the other baristas are moving quickly. Customers are only at the register for a minute, maybe even less. One barista operates the espresso machine, another preps cups for orders to be fulfilled, and the third barista works on non-espresso drinks.
Henson fills in when needed, like getting pastries and refilling the large coffee servers. The line is now down to four people. In less than 11 minutes, Meantime has fulfilled orders for about 16 people.
“It’s like any other day, honestly,” Henson said after I commented on their quick timing. He still has three more hours left in his shift, and he says an even larger rush will happen in about 15 minutes as classes change on campus.
The 15 minutes between class changes is spent preparing the space. A barista goes to the supply closet to get more of their compostable cups, lids, and new coffee syrup bottles. Another cleans the latte machine while everyone else drinks from their water bottles and catches their breath.
I step out of the way as more people trickle in, fifteen minutes on the dot! Now, the line forms a snake through the first floor of the Campus Y, ending right at the entrance. Before taking the first person’s order, Alex discreetly checks his watch and takes a deep breath. Looking up at the customer, finger over the iPad, ready to place the order, he smiles and says, “Hi, what can I get for you?”
The Meantime Coffee Company has been a UNC-Chapel Hill favorite since its opening day in 2016. Started by three UNC students: Keegan McBride, Lauren Eaves, and Scott Diekema. They proposed and enrolled the business idea in the CUBE incubator program through the Campus Y. A year later, they were given the green light to start the very first not-for-profit, student-run coffee shop embedded into the campus.
‘400 Customers a Day’
From the very first day, Meantime has been a success, selling out by the second hour to now, and has been successful and relevant for eight years on a college campus. All while remaining completely student-run.
Katie Whittington, Meantime’s sustainability officer and barista, said the Campus Y reported a couple of years back that the coffee shop engages with roughly 400 customers a day. The number of people they interact with also impacts the waste that the coffee shop and consumers make, which is why they recently began a recycling and composting initiative.
The coffee shop partnered with a commercial composting company, Compost Now, to divert any waste they accumulate from landfills. Inside the Campus Y, you can find a large black compost bin to the right of Meantime.
Whittington encourages people to use the bins and others on campus to throw away their compostable cups, utensils, and tea bags. Or, even better, she says, is to bring your own reusable cup. If you bring it in 10 times, you get a free drink on them!
Along with actively deterring waste, Whittington said they host partnered educational events for the campus community and other businesses. These events discuss what can be composted or recycled, how composting and recycling work, and at the end of the school year, will be presented with their sustainability report that also shows campus-wide comparisons.
Keegan McBride, the founder of the coffee company, says the feat of 400 customers a day has impacted his life tremendously and has helped him determine his career and life goals after having a successful business before he even graduated from college.
McBride said that he will continue going through his life trying to replicate the feeling of starting Meantime, the adrenaline rush of opening day, and when he had to let it go after graduating.
“That’s what I think of any time I come across a new business opportunity,” McBride said. “Or I find myself comparing other ideas to the success of Meantime.”
The hardest part, McBride said, was not coming up with the idea but rather realizing his time at UNC-CH affected his time with Meantime. The search for a new CEO consumed him, and he had to start coping with the idea that Meantime would not be his anymore.
By McBride’s last semester, Scott Diekema, another founder, was chosen as the new CEO. The last remaining founder, Lauren Eaves, was chosen in 2018.
After the three original founders graduated, Meantime developed a strong executive board, and the tradition of board members and past executives choosing the next CEO continued.
All Thanks to the Campus Y
CEOs have come and gone from Meantime, and with each one comes a theme and focus. Henson wants to highlight and focus on giving back to the Campus Y and the abundant social groups associated with it.
Meantime Coffee Co. is already a non-profit, so all the money it makes goes right back to the Campus Y, and a certain percentage is considered the “rent” they pay to continue being in the space.
Meantime’s new shift into giving back means expanding funds, how they donate to groups, who chooses what gets funded, and how they can highlight all the expansive groups at the Y.
This year, the Meantime’s executive board was able to focus funding for the UNC Bridge Year Fellowship, a scholarship opportunity for students seeking a gap year experience. The fellowship is also an updated version of the gap year scholarship McBride was awarded the year before developing Meantime.
With the support of the executive board, Henson has also decided that members get an equal vote and say in what groups they donate to and how they’ll highlight them. So far, group highlights have been through special drinks like the Maple Rosemary Latte, and all proceeds made from that drink went to Compost Mates, who then used the funds to expand their on-campus outreach.
Henson and Whittington agree that this change will not just continue impacting the general UNC community, but it will provide a more niche and expressive impact. They hope to highlight the many racial justice and disability rights groups. As well as discuss ways they can support the immigrant and refugee community on and off campus.
“We just want people to be seen and heard,” Whittington said. “That’s the point of the Campus Y, but we also take up space here, and we are more than able to provide that financial support.”
This is the exact reason why UNC-CH junior Lauren Olarte continues to get her daily pick-me-up from Meantime.
“To go in there and know your money is going to great causes and is being reciprocated back into the community means a lot,” Olarte said.
After hearing that Henson wants to expand the support into the immigrant and refugee community, Olarte said this solidified her support for the coffee shop even more. She said she comes from a first-generation immigrant home herself, and to know that her money will also support homes like hers feels powerful.
“I’m getting emotional over a cup of coffee,” Olarte said. “But I guess that’s impactful in itself.”
A Carolina Legacy
Back at the coffee shop, Henson has officially closed it for the evening. The baristas have left, and it’s just the two of us.
The lights are dim, and it’s quiet. Henson takes a deep breath as he cracks his joints. His hands make the loudest sound. I notice he has coffee grounds under his nails, and I ask if he’s ever noticed that after a shift.
Henson explains that his fingertips always smell like espresso after a shift, and after three years working for Meantime, it’s become comforting for him. He’ll miss it, he says.
We talk about his three years at Meantime and how he feels about his fourth and final year coming up. His emotions are very similar to McBride’s; he’s grown as a person, a student, and a businessman, and his experience at Meantime has shaped his interests and goals.
He reflects on his first year the most; COVID-19 had just subsided, and everything was going back to normal.
“We thought COVID was the end,” Henson said. “Keegan thought it was the end too.”
He slouches on the counter and explains that he did not want to let McBride down. Everyone was determined to try their best, but McBride always told Henson that if it was their time to end, it was their time. They had a great run.
Looking directly into my eyes, Henson said, “I just couldn’t let that happen.”
And he didn’t. Meantime remained open regularly, sometimes closing early if there was a long lull, but they still made a noticeable profit that also helped the Campus Y during this time.
Shifting the conversation, Henson said the most exciting thing he’s looking forward to is seeing all the new baristas that will make their way to the coffee shop. And choosing a new CEO to fill his spot.
Other CEOs in the past may have dreaded it, Henson said, but he can’t wait to see what others focus on and what is important to them, especially as technology changes and interests shift.