Little Mug, Big Impact

At BSSD’s Annette Seago Career Innovation Center, students and staff take part in Real World Learning while using state-of the-art technology, and they can also get a good cup of coffee.

CIC hosts its own full-service coffee shop, Little Blue Mug. Open to BSSD students, staff and CIC visitors, Little Blue Mug is more than a coffee shop. It serves as a real-world learning opportunity where students gain hands-on experience in hospitality, commercial baking, customer service, teamwork, and entrepreneurship while serving the CIC community.

The shop is student-run, with members of the Hospitality and Tourism and Commercial Baking programs offered at CIC splitting morning and afternoon shifts. A seasonal menu featuring coffees, teas, and baked goods is released on the first of each month. 

Little Blue Mug also includes a partnership with local business Scout Coffee. Scout’s beans are featured in the espresso machine and the drip coffee drinks, and owner Jared Montgomery and his team donated their time to help train students on the espresso machine and grinders.

CIC Culinary & Hospitality instructor and Little Blue Mug advisor Lisa Talken said the shop is an amazing collaboration between CIC programs and the community.

“One of the most unique aspects of Little Blue Mug and the Hospitality Pathway is its ability to connect multiple pathways at the CIC,” she said. “The coffee shop has already created opportunities for collaboration with the Business Accelerator program through marketing, sales, and menu offerings; the Culinary programs through menu development; and through dining etiquette lessons with senior internship. The students really enjoy the shop. We had such a successful grand opening, and are looking forward to a great school year.”

Scout Coffee owner Jared Montgomery said, “We helped the staff with recommending the equipment they would need and that whole process. We also have done some mentoring in answering questions they’ve had on drink ideas, projects and their grand opening. It’s a really fun partnership to work with the students and spread our knowledge of coffee and kindness. They have taken what we’ve taught them and ran with it, making it their own. It’s fun to watch. This partnership is definitely beneficial on both sides. It’s nice to support our local schools and we feel grateful that they support us as well.”