Student Fitness Center replaces Starbucks with wellness space

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University has removed the Starbucks from the Student Fitness Center to install a new student wellness space.

For 10 years, ISU students have been able to purchase food and beverages from the fitness center’s Starbucks, but this year things look a little different. The school’s 10-year contract with the coffee company came to an end, and officials decided to transition the area into a new holistic student wellness space, which has not been officially named. 

Bryan Haunert, the director of Campus Recreation, discussed how the change addresses the importance of mental health and student well-being at ISU.

“We don’t offer a ton of spaces that are about relaxing, recharging, rejuvenating, meditation,” said Haunert. “We wanted to make sure that those needs were met too.”

Haunert emphasized that the university wants to look at student health from a broader lens.

“It’s just really important for us to not just focus on the physical aspect of a person’s well-being,” Haunert said. “Everything we do on campus should be with a well-being lens. Whenever we’re thinking about creating new spaces, we always look at their well-being lens.”

The space is split into two sections. The front portion consists of wellness pods that feature heat settings, provide scent infusion and visual screens. The back portion features zero gravity chairs and red-light therapy. Both spaces are meant to allow students to get away from the day-to-day stressors and focus on their mental health.

Addressing student complaints about losing a dining option in the fitness center, Haunert noted that it was no longer a financial possibility for the university.

“It really wasn’t financially sustainable is the best way to look at it,” Haunert said. “Prior to it being a Starbucks, it was a smoothie bar that also was not financially sustainable. If a Starbucks can’t be financially sustainable, if a juice bar can’t be, there’s probably nothing else that we could potentially put in here that would make sense.”

Haunert added that the university also views the space as a recruitment tool. He hopes that by adding this new area to the fitness center, it will attract a new crowd of students not just onto the campus, but also to all the other things that the fitness center offers.

“One of our hopes is that we get a different population that comes and walks through our doors. And they maybe start branching out and doing other things. They realize that we all offer different things,” said Haunert.

Right now, the space is in a soft opening stage as the staff figures out some of the last few details, but it is expected to be fully operational by the end of September.

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