Radina’s Coffeehouse and Roastery reopened its location in the K-State Student Union on Tuesday after the Union underwent extensive remodeling in the past year.
Manager of the Union Radina’s, Zac Ralston, said the Union location provides a special niche in a more central location.
“It offers a nice gathering spot for everyone to come study and meet up for a nice afternoon,” Ralston said. “It’s kind of that mentality of the third place, if you will. It’s not home, it’s not work, it’s a place in between, and it’s a nice place for everyone across the board to be able to come and just have a safe space to be able to hang out and enjoy their time.”
With the addition of the Union location, Radina’s now operates four locations on campus — including locations in the Leadership Studies Building, the business building and the engineering complex — as well as three other locations in Manhattan.
Ralston said he had worked at the Union Radina’s before it closed for remodeling and now oversees all campus locations.
“Every store has kind of its own vibe to it, which is interesting,” Ralston said. “They meet the needs of the students who frequent them in those buildings. For example, the Leadership Studies location — the first one on campus — has a very unique vibe. The College of Business has a more industrial vibe to it, and then this one is a mixture of all three. There’s nice elements of all of them here.”
Baristas at the coffeehouse said three workers were hired for the reopening and more will likely be hired in the coming weeks.
Alex Peterson, junior in chemistry, said he thinks students will use the Union location as a place to study.
“I like coming to coffee shops to study because it’s more relaxed and there’s light music in the background,” Peterson said. “It’s just a great place to study. I actually didn’t go to other locations because they were further away and the library was closer, but this is closer to me, so I might come here more often.”
Michelle Ragan senior in architectural engineering, said she will likely take advantage of the Union Radina’s because it is close to the architecture department in Seaton Hall across Bosco Student Plaza from the Union.
“I drink coffee like water,” Ragan said. “Usually I try to go local, like Radina’s or Sparrow. I think most engineers are heavy coffee drinkers, and I think the new location is a big help, because they have a really good menu as far as food and drinks go. It’s also just a good place to come and hang out.”
Ralston said in the first day of operation, the coffeehouse saw heavier traffic in the morning. As time goes on, he said he expects more traffic during the lunch hour, as the coffeehouse also offers sandwiches and salads.
“More and more, it’s busy during lunchtime as well, because we do offer a variety of fresh-made sandwiches and fresh-made salads, and all of that is sourced locally and made with local bread and ingredients, so it’s really nice,” Ralston said. “It’s something we’re growing our business in.”
