The Cal Poly Corporation is working toward incorporating more local businesses on its campus rather than major chains.
The university currently works with companies like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Subway. However, the goal of having more local businesses on campus is ramping up.
“We have a long history with having community vendors on campus, but we’ve really taken it up a notch this year,” says Andrea Burns, Associate Executive Director for Cal Poly Corporation.
The most recent local business to set up a brick-and-mortar location on campus is Scout Coffee.
The coffee shop has two other locations in San Luis Obispo on Foothill Boulevard and Garden Street, but co-owner Sara Peterson says that the on-campus shop gives her a better chance to connect with the students.
“Just like the mom in me likes connecting with freshmen like, ‘How are you guys doing? How is your first year? Do you have friends? Like you know, just checking in on the students,” Peterson says.
The Cal Poly Corporation also works with local food trucks, including G Brothers, SLO Dog, and Jewel of India.
“We certainly have a lot of passion for Cal Poly graduates that are starting up businesses. We want to support them and help them,” Burns says.
Cal Poly graduate Justin Chan is set to open his pop-up boba shop, Sequel Tea, on campus starting March 14. He hopes more local businesses will follow.
“What would we do if a student had an idea or someone just wanted to sell something,” Chan says. “Why is it all these huge corporations? What about all the other smaller businesses?”
According to the Cal Poly Corporation, Campus Dining will continue to move in this direction.
To see what Cal Poly offers for dining options, you can visit the website, https://www.calpolydining.com/restaurants/.
