In the spring of 2023, the new home of the Judy Genshaft Honors College — a five-story 85,000-square-foot building — will open on USF’s Tampa campus. The new facility will feature interwoven spaces for classrooms, student collaboration areas, faculty and advisor offices, event areas, a computer lab, performance and creative spaces, and a brand-new Buddy Brew Coffee café. The café will be located on the main floor and serve the entire University of South Florida community.
“We are very excited about the selection of Buddy Brew Coffee for our new building,” said Dr. Charles Adams, dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College. “As a local business that prioritizes global sustainability, ethical sourcing and community service, this company aligns perfectly with the values of our college.”
USF Dining, USF’s hospitality partner, brings Buddy Brew Coffee to the USF Campus. Buddy Brew Coffee has eight other café locations across Tampa Bay. The company’s mission is “Brew Good, Do Good,” which means all coffee beans are ethically and sustainably sourced so farmers can thrive. Named after the golden retriever of the company’s founders Dave and Susan Ward, Buddy Brew employs more than 100 people and has grocery distribution across the country in Whole Foods, Publix, The Fresh Market and Winn-Dixie stores, among others. It was named the 2022 Small Business of the Year by the Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to equitable sourcing practices, Buddy Brew gives back to multiple local and global causes. Special collaborative coffees, available in café locations and online, support causes such as reforestation in East Africa, bicycle donations for needy children in Tampa, and aid for victims of human trafficking.
Beginning in May, visitors to the new Judy Genshaft Honors College will be able to enjoy Buddy Brew’s hot and iced coffees and food selections in the café’s indoor and outdoor seating areas. A full wall mural in the indoor seating area will feature an original artwork by local artist Elisabeth Condon.
Visitors may also choose to sit in the building’s impressive atrium, which is five stories tall and enclosed with a clerestory that brings in natural light and complements the beautiful glass and wood combinations throughout the building.
From the atrium, guests will be able to see one of the unique design features of the facility: 39 cantilevered learning lofts that appear suspended in air around the second through fifth floors of the atrium. These semi-private spaces will be used by students to meet, study, relax and collaborate.
The building project began thanks to an historic college-naming gift of $20 million from USF President Emerita and Professor Judy Genshaft and her husband Steve Greenbaum.
The building opens next spring. In the meantime, students, faculty and members of the community can watch the project progress at a viewing stand located at the northwest corner of the building site. Those not able to travel to the site can stay up-to-date thanks to a live webcam which can be accessed through the Honors website 24 hours a day.
“I check the building camera almost every day,” Adams said. “It is great to watch the progress, and we are so grateful to President Emerita Genshaft and Mr. Greenbaum for making it possible. I can’t wait to see the students benefiting from this new building while enjoying Buddy Brew coffee. In fact, I can’t wait for that first cup myself!”