Crossroads Café has brewed up major changes this semester: expanded weekend hours, the removal of the alternative milk surcharge, upgrades to aging equipment and a switch from dark roast to a medium coffee blend.
The café is now open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. The decision to increase hours, according to staff, was made in response to feedback from both baristas and customers.
“The four student managers, they lead the challenge down there,” Assistant Manager of Retail Foods Andy Davidson said in an interview with The Campus. He is the liaison between the student Crossroads managers and Middlebury Dining Services.
Crossroads managers Jayda Murray ’25.5 and Monica Cuellar ’26 said they hope the longer weekend hours prevent the overcrowding of the cafe that has presented difficulties in previous semesters.
“I worked that [Sunday] shift my sophomore year, [it was] super packed,” Cuellar said in an interview with The Campus. “So, I feel like starting a little earlier on Sunday and also being open on Saturday gives us a chance to spread people out at different times.”
Murray said they also took into consideration a groupchat-wide poll open to all of the baristas to gauge the expansion’s feasibility. “It’s assessing what we think we might need and we get their [the barista’s] opinions,” she said.
According to Davidson, traffic on Saturdays has been off to a slow start.
“We’re up against nice weather outside, not everybody studies on a Saturday during the day,” Davidson said. “There was one Saturday that was a huge athletic day but [I am] hopeful it will pick up once word spreads out, especially through social media.”
One of the most noticeable improvements, staff said, has been the addition of a new espresso machine, steam wand and fridge.
Barista Rese Kinney-Bastedo ’27, who has worked at Crossroads since her first year, said that the new equipment has made her work less stressful compared to other semesters. She cited the steam wand as an example, noting that for much of last semester the café operated with only one functional wand, leading to frequent backups in orders. With two now in use, service moves much more quickly.
Crossroads regular Nawale Nachula ’28 agreed and said the new equipment enhanced her overall experience at the café.
"My daily Matcha Lattes are [now] so much better because of it,” Nachula said.
The drop of the $1.25 charge for alternative milk options, such as oat and almond milk, was also a welcomed change partly driven by feedback from student customers communicated through the managers, according to Davidson. Pricing is one of the few aspects of Crossroads dictated by college staff members rather than the student managers.
Davidson said he tries to keep prices comparable to other local cafés.
“I don’t want to price everybody out,” Davidson said. “A lot of cafés have dropped charges for alternative milk, and the cost of milk is already built into the price.”
The managers have also placed a new suggestion box on the cafés counter for community feedback. Murray said they’ve received numerous positive comments and requests to bring back specialty drinks.
Looking ahead towards the rest of the semester, both student managers expressed optimism about continuing their work with the Crossroads team, something Kinney-Bastedo said was akin to “a big family”, as they look back on the role Crossroads have played in their time at Middlebury.
“It’s hard working here for three and half years and not having a positive outlook,” Murray said. “Amidst all of what feels like chaos, because working at a coffee shop naturally [is] kind of fast paced. You really love it.”
