UNC’s Daily Grind Closes After 23 Years

The sound of the Daily Grind’s espresso machine is ringing through the UNC Student Store for the last time on Friday. It has been serving students and visitors from the little corner shop since 1993 – nearly 23 years.

But that legacy has come to an end.

“It had a great, very long-lasting reign and I’m sad that it’s closing,” said UNC student and Daily Grind barista Emily Lowery.

The debate whether to privatize the UNC Student Store ended in April when Barnes and Noble College Booksellers closed the $30 million deal to purchase the historically university-run store.

“It was my first job and I can honestly say that it’s the best first job that anyone could have,” Lowery said. “Our boss is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet.”

Owner Jane Brown started the Daily Grind as a small coffee cart in the pit one summer. She focused on bringing local coffees and pastries to campus, partnering with Counter Culture Coffee in Durham and the Mediterranean Deli.

But when news broke that the Student Store was being privatized, Brown was one of the last to know The Daily Grind’s contract would not be renewed. Brown, along with her employees, found out through the Daily Tar Heel.

“I didn’t actually hear it from my boss, and she didn’t hear it from management or anything. She read it in the newspaper; we read it in the newspaper. That’s how we knew we were closing.”

The news was a shock to Brown and many of the employees who were told by former Student Stores manager, John Gorsuch, that the Daily Grind could join other vendors in bidding for the coffee shop’s contract when it ran out in June of this year.

“We thought that we were gonna stick around because at the beginning we were told that the Daily Grind wasn’t going to be affected. So it was a shock to find out.”

Even more shocking, Lowery said, was the abrupt change of the shop’s closing date.

“At first they told us that we were going to close on June 24th but now three weeks ago they told us we were going to close on June 10th and that was so sudden. So it was just very abrupt.”

Brad Ives is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Enterprises and said in a statement that Barnes and Noble College will be arranging for coffee service at the Student Stores in the future. They plan to expand the new area to create a central hub for campus activity.

But for now, UNC must say goodbye to the Daily Grind’s signature “magical mochas” and local blends.