Moody College of Communication is a place where creatives thrive — but not without their caffeine. O’s Campus Cafe, Cappy’s and Woffie’s served students and faculty members for several years before closing on May 2.
According to previous Texan coverage, the college decided in early April to shut down the stores and not renew either location’s contracts, as the college was looking for a “fresh approach.”
O’s Campus Cafe, a brand exclusive to UT, has proved loyal to the University for over 20 years. Since UT has not shown any effort to relocate the loss of the two cafes, the University should relocate Cappy’s and Woffie’s to inside the FAC and the Tower.
Joe Sauta, owner and general manager of O’s Campus Cafe, expressed that he was blindsided by the cafe’s closures.
“I asked if I could set up a meeting with (the new Moody dean) to see if there’s something that we could do, and they decided that they didn’t want to meet,” Sauta said.
Sauta said this took a financial hit on his company.
“Business was very good,” Sauta said. “In the eight years we were there, I can’t recall any complaints about service or food.”
Moody representatives had no additional comments since the Texan’s previous reporting.
The FAC and the Tower are two prime study spots that lack food and caffeine resources, and since UT already has plans to reimagine the Tower, now is a time better than ever.
“(There’s) a kind of uniqueness that comes with being a student and having those UT branded coffee shops,” public relations junior Anthony Okeke said.
Part of UT’s plan for the tower is to revitalize key interior spaces like the ground floor, 27th floor and observation deck. This can help create an inviting, dynamic experience for visitors alongside new centers of learning and life for students.
The addition of a cafe would fit right in with their goal of creating an “inviting” space.
“One thing that makes us unique is everything that we do here is from scratch,” Sauta said. “All the food is prepared here. … The vendor that we use for coffee is locally sourced, and they roast all their beans.”
The coffee chain Lucky Lab replaced Cappy’s and Woffie’s. While Lucky Lab provides quality services and products, it lacks the love and care put into the expansive food menu and catering O’ Campus offers.
The company still serves UT at six locations, so it hasn’t been completely eliminated from campus culture. It’s still available for students to visit on campus, but the removal of their Moody locations was sudden and unexplained and UT needs to compensate the company by relocating them where students need them most.
The FAC and Tower are in the center of campus life, making these cafes accessible for all if located there.
“We love the campus, … everything about it, (and) we’re always looking to expand,” Sauta said. “We would love the opportunity to come back.”
Harrison is a journalism senior from Dallas, Texas.
