VCU’s new Saxbys cafe is blending lattes with learning

By Leila Ugincius

When Virginia Commonwealth University opened its Saxbys cafe in the Snead Hall atrium Tuesday, it wasn't just launching a coffee spot and eatery. It was launching a classroom.

While Saxbys offers classic hot and cold brews, creative smoothies and frozen lattes - and food options that include baked goods, breakfast all day and a plethora of grilled cheese sandwiches - it's also an experiential learning platform.

"Saxbys is an education company disguised as a coffee company," founder and CEO Nick Bayer said.

Since 2015, Saxbys has built individualized academic partnerships with universities across the Northeast to provide paid, experiential learning opportunities for students. Touted as being "for students, by students," each cafe is 100% student-run. Saxbys' only involvement is hiring a student CEO, who then hires the rest of the cafe's team members.

"It's an experience that most people will never have," said VCU inaugural Student CEO Sean Campbell, a junior marketing major in the School of Business, which is based in Snead Hall. "It would be a missed opportunity to pass this up. In addition, the whole reason I came to VCU was for opportunities like this."

Stephen Barr, director of VCU Business Services, which oversees all of the university's dining options, first encountered Saxbys at a conference a few years ago.

"I really liked the concept," he said. "I just thought it was kind of cool all around. [And it] checked a bunch of boxes for the university. … It just made sense that they needed to be partners of ours on this campus. Here's an opportunity to get some real-world life experience in running and operating a coffee shop from the ground up."

Rodney joins, from left, Brian Brown, Ph.D., VCU School of Business dean; Sean Campbell, VCU's inaugural Student CEO of Saxbys; Andrew T. Arroyo, Ed.D., VCU senior vice provost for academic affairs; Nick Bayer, Saxbys founder and CEO; Jana McQuaid, associate dean for academic programs and student success of the VCU School of Business; and Emily Foote, Saxbys' chief growth & strategy officer at Saxbys' grand opening in Snead Hall. (Saxbys)

The partnership between Saxbys and VCU reflects a shared commitment, said Andrew T. Arroyo, Ed.D., VCU's senior vice provost for academic affairs.

"On the one hand, we have a company whose stated mission is to make life better by supporting and empowering the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs," he said. "And on the other hand, we have a community-engaged research university that is committed to making your education real through relevant experiential and applied learning."Brian Brown, Ph.D., dean of the School of Business, noted that offering business opportunities to students helps them develop the confidence, tools and experiences employers value.

"Learning from a textbook is great, and getting an A on an exam is great, too," Brown said. "But if you really want to learn, you must learn through your experiences, right? That's what we believe."

As student CEO, Campbell will manage his team of peers, but he's most looking forward to connecting with the community. As an event specialist at DoorDash last year, he quickly realized that generic marketing wasn't going to work on a campus like VCU's. As a student himself, he knew what felt authentic versus what felt like an ad.

"What that taught me is that you can't lead or market or build anything with a generic playbook. You have to actually understand the people that you're trying to reach," Campbell said. "That's the same mindset I plan to bring to Saxbys. It's not enough to just sell coffee. I have to understand what my campus community wants and build around that."

Through the experience, the students will hone what Bayer calls power skills: emotional intelligence, critical thinking, cultural agility and resilience. "The skills that are impossible to teach in the classroom," he said, "but are required for success in life."