Rinnova’s new coffee cart becomes a campus staple

By Bella Agnello

Rinnova saw staggering lines when they switched to using coffee beans from Pettibone Coffee in Dayton, OH. At high-traffic times of day, lines can stretch as far back as to Panda Express. This year, help came in the form of Rinnova’s new portable coffee cart.

Starting November 5, the Rinnova cart will be up and running in the BTS on Tuesdays and Thursdays after chapel until 4 p.m. Students can pay for their drinks with cash or flex dollars.

Westin Park, the assistant director of Campus Experience, first dreamed about getting a mobile coffee cart for Cedarville University in the fall of 2023. In the following spring, Vinyl Coffee in Washington Court House, OH, sold their cart to Cedarville University.

The cart required several modifications to suit the campus’ needs, which Ben Kinsinger, a senior Civil Engineering major and student manager at Rinnova, helped work on over the summer.

The cart’s equipment is different from the equipment at Rinnova’s main location, requiring the baristas to train using the manual espresso machine and efficiently running the cart.

“It’s very different from the counter, so it takes a little bit of extra attention to be able to run it – it started out as just us student managers running it,” Kinsinger said. “Your goal is to never do everything yourself, but to train people so hopefully they’re doing your job by the time you leave.”

The cart debuted during Getting Started Weekend. Since then, it has made several appearances in the BTS.

Though Rinnova planned on doing pop-up appearances with the cart, after setting it up for four consecutive Friday’s, Park said that the key to the cart’s success is to have a steady strategy.

“We found that we need to be a consistent presence in order for students to buy coffee from us because often in the mind of a student, they know they want coffee – they just need to know when and where,” Park said.

The cart’s menu is not that much different from Rinnova’s main menu. Because of the limited space, there are fewer syrups available and the cart is not able to make chais or smoothies. However, it makes almost any drink on the menu, including Rinnova’s seasonal drinks, which will be available in eight ounce- and 12-ounce sizes.

“If you’re an espresso drinker, then the cart is a great option for you,” Park said. “I’m excited for students to be excited about it and to come see us in the BTS.”

Bella Agnello is a junior Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major with a concentration in Journalism. She enjoys thrifting, listening to records and reading classic Russian literature in her spare time.