Market Café has made some changes to its beverage menu in preparation for the opening of Sambazon, a new acai bowl shop slated to share its former space. Located on the lower floor of the Student Union food court, the café is one of several on-campus locations that sell quick-service food offerings alongside specialty drinks.
Students at the University of Connecticut found that Market Café was no longer able to serve espresso or frozen beverages at the start of the spring semester. Both drink categories require specialized equipment to help prepare the items properly.
“We’ve had a lot of people coming in, asking for those drinks like they used to,” said Brianna Gonzalez, a finance student who works in the café. “I actually liked making them, it was easier for me.”
Sambazon, the new acai bowl concept under construction, was announced by Dining Services on Jan. 19. The façade for the new establishment takes the place of the Market Café’s espresso machines and blenders. Hauver explained that with both operations in such close proximity, the change was necessary to prevent physical conflicts. Commercial espresso machines are often larger to accommodate more drink-making throughput.
“We did have to change the menu slightly, mostly due to the physical space,” said Scott Hauver, the assistant director of retail operations for Dining Services.
Less menu items and simpler drink offerings also allow the café to be more efficient in its speed of service, since team members will be able to complete more orders more quickly. The changes can reduce the potential for lines and having to wait for more complicated orders to be completed.
“We are actually seeing an improvement in service at that café location,” Hauver said.
Espresso-based and specialty beverages are still available at each of the other Uniquely Caffeinated Café locations, the nearest two to the Student Union being Bookworms Café, inside the Homer Babbidge Library study space, and the Beanery, at the lower entrance to the William Benton Museum of Art.
This also isn’t the first time that UConn’s retail dining options have gone through changes recently. The Up and Atom Café in the Gant math-science complex and the Chem Café in the chemistry building both closed by 2023 in favor of the new NanoByte location in the Science One research center — and the Dairy Bar Too and Chuck and Augie’s Bistro, both in the Student Union, shuttered in 2021. The new Sambazon space also used to be home to Freshens, a smoothie franchise that moved to the new Student Recreation Center, but was replaced by the UConn-operated Mango.
Sambazon is slated to open in early February and will accept meal-plan points, Husky Bucks, and digital payment options. The UConn location will not participate in the Sambazon rewards program, however, due to it being a licensed operation, not a company-owned location.
Dining Services encourages students looking to purchase the specialty drinks formerly offered at the Market Café at the four other Uniquely Caffeinated locations on-campus. A map and hours, in addition to menus and nutrition information, can be found at dining.uconn.edu/uc-cafes.