Rey Rey Café | Photo by Kelsie Tomlinson | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University (WSU) Dayton campus is home to 15 separate dining establishments, but only one of them is run and staffed by students.
Rey Rey Café in Rike Hall is WSU’s own locally sourced coffee shop open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday.
Who are they?
CEO of Rey Rey Café and senior Paige Wilms said that Rey Rey is coming back stronger than ever after their recent shutdown for the 2020 to 2021 school year.
“Our staff right now is very dedicated, and we have been hiring a really fun group of people. We're really trying our best to lead Rey Rey in a new direction and to make a very positive company culture, and to start from the ground up. We are so happy to be open again,” Wilms said.
A unique aspect of Rey Rey is their ability to operate internally as a student-run organization, Williams said, and how positions on their Student Management Board (SMB) begin as baristas to enable them to be better business leaders.
COVID-19 ramifications
“We've been working with a whole new team this school year, and then dealing with the struggle to find supplies, staff and the funding excess since we still had bills to pay during COVID. We are hard at working on recouping all of our funds as well,” Wilms said.
The importance of the practical experience that the Raj Soin College of Business students gain when on the SMB outweighs the downturn of profits for the café.
The profits made by the Rey Rey Café are given as a scholarship to students at the end of the year.
Importance
Chief Marketing Officer Senior Hannah Ross named the core values of the café as “Connection, Hard-work and Creativity.”
“I just started as CMO but it's definitely affected me a lot. I didn't start business school until last year. I've been able to meet so many different people and gain so much experience. I've learned marketing skills and been able to use these ideas I've had. I'm definitely taking a lot of classes at once. I have been able to apply the practical knowledge from the Café in my current marketing classes,” Ross said.
What’s next?
Rey Rey Café is currently hiring for the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial officer positions, which are open to Business students, as well as barista positions which are open to any major.
The Café is currently hosting a promotional event for 2022 calendars. Every transaction equals a ticket into the raffle to choose one of many calendars. The drawing will take place on Feb. 3, and the winner will be announced on their social media and their announcements wall.
