The Café @ Maryland Hall
We are a: Cooperative Student-Run Business in AACPS
Step into the Café at Maryland Hall and at first glance you’ll see the familiar sights of any local café—cashiers are greeting customers by name, cases are filled with fresh pastries and sandwiches, and locally sourced artwork is hanging on the walls. But take a closer look and you’ll realize that the art, the food, the staff, all of it comes from students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS). Since May 2018, the Café at Maryland Hall has been a student-run business operated in partnership between AACPS, the Center of Applied Technology (CAT) South, and Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.
Launching the Café @ Maryland Hall
Over the years, multiple businesses have tried operating a café on the ground floor of Maryland Hall, but the building’s seasonal programming has made the location difficult to sustain. So in 2017, the Maryland Hall Board of Directors suggested that AACPS may be interested in using the space with students.
Dr. Maureen McMahon, AACPS Deputy Superintendent of Academic & Strategic Initiatives who championed the partnership, began forming a team who could bring the vision of a student café to life. She reached out to Pam Klink, culinary instructor at CAT South to integrate the opportunity into the culinary program and turned to Tammy Diedrich, AACPS Manger of Internships and Business Programs, to serve as a general manager. As the café began to take shape with the support of Maryland Hall and many individuals throughout AACPS, leaders from the Performing Visuals Arts (PVA) Magnet Program came on board to oversee the use of the café’s small gallery and performance. After months of planning, painting, and dreaming of possibilities, the Café at Maryland Hall opened in May 2018 and had its ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Fall of 2018.
A Student-Run Business in Action
Everyone talks about the importance of providing students with real world experience, but it’s not often that students have opportunities as real as working at the café. During the school year, students are involved in every aspect of the operation from the kitchen to the customer. Food is prepared by culinary students at CAT-South under the guidance of Chef Klink. Then, a mix of students and work study interns from CAT-South work under Manager Jody Elliott to manage the register, prepare orders, bus tables, and train new student employees. Even the artwork on display is curated and hung by PVA students.
These opportunities are exactly what has made the entire initiative so meaningful. Tammy Diedrich, who has been one of the café’s most enthusiastic partners, says “To see the student growth—their personal growth from being involved in the Café is amazing and has made the whole project come to life.” Over the past year, she has seen shy, reserved students come into their own and embrace their role in the café’s success. “This is what it is all about,” says Ms. Diedrich. “This is why we did this.”
Bringing the Community Together
From the beginning, the café was created to be a place that brought the community together. Staff at the café work with resident companies at Maryland Hall and partner to support their events whenever possible. The café also hosts regular performances from PVA students and local community performers and artists. And the coffee? Locally sourced from the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company, who has been a strong supporter of this small business.
As the Café at Maryland Hall grows, AACPS hopes to expand its partnerships with the community and provide more opportunities to students. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the café plans to engage students from the ProStart National Restaurant Association Education Foundation program at Annapolis High School and hopes to showcase student artwork from across the county in the gallery.
While always looking towards future possibilities, AACPS is grateful to Maryland Hall for providing this opportunity for our students. “It’s a student run business, with a partner that we value, within the community that our students come from,” says Dr. McMahon. “For us, it is an exciting win-win-win.”
