Construction on South Campus’ Beaker’s Coffee Cart has been delayed, and some St. Thomas students are counting down the days until it reopens.

Crews began construction on Beaker’s, located in Owens Science Hall, this summer with the goal of being completed before the start of the fall semester, but according to Beaker’s supervisor Stephanie Starr-Manley, the reopening date has been pushed to Oct. 7.

For senior Caitlin Kielblock, waiting for Beaker’s to reopen hasn’t been ideal.

“It’s a bummer,” Kielblock said. “I get something to eat (from Beaker’s) every day that I’m in the science building, so that’s basically every day.”

Starr-Manley said the city of St. Paul was handling the inspections until the project was handed over to the state, a move that caused the delay.

“Now (the state is) kind of backlogged,” Starr-Manley said.

The Beaker’s remodel will make the hallway shop comparable to the more contemporary venues on campus.

“When you look at the Anderson Student Center, it’s such a beautiful facility. Then you look at Beaker’s, and it was very dated. It needed an update,” Starr-Manley said.

Aside from cosmetic improvement, the coffee shop renovation is focused on making its small space more efficient for workers by installing new cabinets, countertops and appliances.

“Before, our storage room was in the basement so we had to be going up and down to get supplies,” Starr-Manley said. “Now we’ll have everything in one place.”

Starr-Manley said the shop is planning on offering a few new items, but Beaker’s will remain essentially a coffee station because space is still limited even with the upgrade.

“It’s a real coffee shop with grab-and-go items. You can’t do any prep work there because we don’t have the space to do that,” Starr-Manley said.

Senior Ashley Soppe said faster service would be another change that could benefit Beaker’s.

“I know times that you get in line between classes, and you’d be waiting until your next class started … So hopefully this will help the speediness,” Soppe said.

Senior Tim Pelcak said it is likely that the delay is causing people to have to rethink their morning schedules.

“I think it’s definitely a major inconvenience for people who have early classes in the area,” Pelcak said. “Many people time their routines and morning schedules around getting to class and their morning coffee.”

Although waiting for the reopening is inconvenient for sophomore Emily Hoeppner, she said Beaker’s new look will be worth the delay.

“People will be so excited to have Beaker’s back. I think its new look will be great, which will probably bring in even more business than it did before,” Hoeppner said.

Even with the delay, Starr-Manley said the Beaker’s staff is highly anticipating the reopening.

“We’re very excited for it to open,” Starr-Manley said. “The space is very nice, and I think the students will enjoy it.”

Molly Sigler can be reached at sigl1215@stthomas.edu.