The Blender Café

Students To Run Blender Café

By Lakya Jackson, Beloit Memorial MEO student

“It’s going to be amazing” Angela Sanchez, the newly hired manager of The Blender, started to explain. Scheduled to open at the end of May this year, The Blender will sell a variety of smoothies, coffees, lattes, sandwiches, wraps, granolas, and yogurts at fair prices. The Blender was sponsored by the Hendrix Foundation, Homes family, and others. “It’s going to be a cross between program and business just because it’s a mix of school projects and then it is going to be a business for the community of Beloit.” said Sanchez, a 25 year old Beloit native who says she is very excited about the opening of The Blender.

Student Requirements

To be hired, students had to be either in or plan on taking hospitality classes at the high school, be 15 and a half years of age and have good academics. Sanchez had Starbucks managers come and interview the students in Beloit Memorial’s library. Sanchez explains, “What they [students] did was they had interviews with Starbucks. So we had a bunch of managers from Starbucks all around Wisconsin come and they did interviews with them and they [students] did two different interviews with two different managers.” Then from that point the applications were looked over by Sanchez and that’s when the actual hiring process began.

Manager Angela Sanchez

Angela Sanchez | Manager, The Blender Cafe’

Sanchez, who is the daughter of Salvador Sanchez, owner of the local Salvador’s restaurant, believes that food and beverage runs in the family. Sanchez is the middle child with two siblings. She attended University of Wisconsin–Stout where she acquired her hotel restaurant tours and management degree. She states that her father played a huge role in her decision to major in food and beverage saying that she “grew up in the restaurant business.”

To become the manager of The Blender, Sanchez had to apply, submit a cover letter, provide references, a transcript, proof of the required education and be interviewed. “It wasn’t too bad,” she noted, explaining that her tasks will consist of budgeting, mentoring and being there for the students, and pretty much oversee the entire operation. Sanchez says she just hopes that the restaurant takes off and stays successful while keeping students involved, and that the setting diverse and comfortable. She emphasizes, “I want The Blender to be a place where all types of people feel comfortable.”

A Shining Example of Public/Private partnering together to help students.

Thank you to the following and too many more to try and thank individually here.

• The Beloit Public Library
• The Hendricks Family Foundation
• Kerry Ingredients
• Starbucks
• Friends of Beloit Public Library
• Rotary Club of Beloit
• Klobucar Construction
• Angus Young & Associates

The post The Blender Café appeared first on School District of Beloit News.