At the end of 2024, Linfield made several renovations to Dillin Dining Hall and the campus Starbucks. The booths on the west side of Dillin have been replaced with small tables. On the east side, booths have been added, as well as a lounge area with ottomans.
The large circular tables near the main entrance have been removed and replaced with smaller tables. In addition, the wobbly and broken tables have been replaced. The color scheme has changed from brown and beige to red and purple, Linfield’s official colors.
In Starbucks, the couches and booths have been removed, and the chairs have been replaced with newer ones. The pictures on the walls showcasing Linfield’s history have been removed and replaced with abstract paintings.
Students seem to have mixed feelings about the renovations.
“I miss the couches (in Starbucks)” freshman student Roe Hale said.
Junior Victoria Breazeale says, “I like Dillin, but Starbucks I’m not too much a fan of. I miss the coziness of it.”
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz aimed to turn the business into a third place.
“Providing the world with a warm and welcoming third place may just be our most important role and responsibility,” he says in a farewell letter to his employees, according to CNN.
The concept of the “first place” is the home, the “second place” is work, and the “third place” is somewhere where a person can exist outside the pressures of those two environments.
On Sept. 9, 2024, Brian Niccol was named CEO. He has a different approach to running Starbucks.
“We want to hand deliver a high-quality, handcrafted beverage to our café customers in four minutes or less and deliver orders on time for our mobile order and pay customers every time,” he says in an earnings call held shortly after he took the position, according to INC. Rather than his focus being on the environment inside a given Starbucks, the emphasis seems to be on speed and mobile orders. This lessened emphasis on third places provides context for the changes to Linfield’s Starbucks location, which streamlined the appearance of the inside.
Sodexo general manager Javier Lopez explains the intentions behind the renovations, saying, “Renovations at Dillin are part of a multiyear vision created in conjunction with Linfield University leadership team to develop and enhance gathering locations for the students on campus.”
Changes aren’t quite done.
“We made the west side a study space, we might add some whiteboards to this area in the future,” Lopez said.
In reference to the east side of Dillin, Lopez said “We added a TV and seating where students could watch a football game, or for ASLU events.”
Once students warm up to the changes, Dillin could become a lively third space for Linfield students.
