‘A natural fit’: Local coffee shop to move into UC Starbucks location

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A local coffee shop is expanding beyond its Corryville home and planting its roots onto the University of Cincinnati’s campus in 2024.

Located at 2900 Jefferson Ave., The 86 Coffee Bar is considered a popular study spot, a community meeting point and a safe haven for many UC students.

Come spring semester, students and faculty will no longer have to trek across campus to get their fix of a honey lavender latte or a London fog. Instead, The 86 will be right there near the heart of UC.

“It’s major,” The 86 Manager Gabrielle Larkin said about expanding. “When UC approached us, it was with the mindset of prioritizing local. And being voted ‘Best of UC’ for coffee through The News Record several times, it just seemed like a natural fit.”

The 86 will move into where the current College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) Starbucks is now, but the moving will not start until Thanksgiving Break, Larkin said.

“It’s currently open [the Starbucks] and it won’t close [until the break] because people are still working there,” she explained.

Employees at the on-campus Starbucks are hired through Aramark, a company that provides dining and beverage services at UC. Eventually, those employees will be transitioned into a new role through the company.

“We’ve been in UC’s mind from The News Record experience,” explained Larkin about why the university chose The 86. “Many UC students and faculty come in for coffee and we just have a good relationship over the bar with them.”

After a lot of negotiations with the school, Larkin says it seemed like the feasible thing to do.

“It’s a great statement on local and small,” she said. “Creating safe spaces and community for people and to that within the campus - it seemed like a great thing to do. How do you say ‘no’ to that?”

As a nonprofit business, the majority of coffee shop employees are volunteers.

“[Volunteers are] primarily UC students who need volunteer hours,” said Larkin. “Others have a need for a sense of community and the social aspect, especially first-year students.”

The coffee shop manager went on to say that volunteering is also nice for those who may be far away from home as they are able to create a point of security.

“We really focus everything around those ‘four Cs’ and we really [translate] that to loving on people,” said Larkin.

The four Cs: Coffee, concerts, creativity and community.

From rotating out the art hanging on their walls made by local artists to hosting a Thanksgiving dinner every year with their employees, The 86 is big on cultivating a family-like environment in Cincinnati.

As the company prepares to move into CCM, Larkin says the Jefferson Avenue location will continue to operate.

“We have no plans of leaving,” she emphasized.

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