Our history

 

In 1995, Indiana Wesleyan University’s School of Business introduced the idea of creating a student-run coffee shop on campus to create community and provide students with business experience and a unique study space. 

We strive to foster a community atmosphere based on the phrase, “First a place of love, second a place of coffee.”

Originally named “Common Grounds,” the coffee shop was first located in the basement of the McConn chapel (today’s location of Noggle Christian Ministries building) and established in 1996. The coffeeshop was later moved to the Barnes Student Center and renamed McConn Coffee Co. after the longest-serving president of IWU, William McConn. 

Today, light fixtures and stained glass windows from the original McConn chapel adorn the coffeeshop, adding the warmth of the past to the pace of the present.

 
 

Each semester, McConn Coffee Co. gives IWU students the chance to gain work experience in the coffee industry as baristas. Today, we have a team of over 40 baristas and 10 shift managers. Additionally, a team of interns are hired each year to work in areas of Marketing, Business Development, Accounting, Human Resources, and Purchasing. These interns receive academic credit in addition to management experience.

We’re proud to be a full-service coffee bar offering quality coffee products, speciality drinks, pastries, merchandise, and more.