Photo by Gracie Pantalone. Sip’s has a menu that displays their prices and drinks, which allows students to have an idea of what they are paying for before they purchase a drink. They also have a side menu that shows off their featured holiday drinks.
Sip’s Coffee Bar was introduced to Wittenberg’s campus during the fall semester of 2023. There had been a previous coffee business in Thomas Library, but it went out of business due to a lack of customers. Sip’s was then put in by a group of students with the help of Tiger Ventures. Tiger Ventures is a student-led organization that works with other students to give them real-world experience in business. Tiger Ventures currently has two businesses on campus, Tiger Fuel and Sip’s Coffee Bar. Mackee Miller ‘25, the President of Sip’s Coffee Bar, worked hard to bring this idea to life. Miller is a business student who works with a team of people who help monitor the function of the coffee bar, manage the staff, and promote the business.
Sip’s has been a hands-on business venture for all who have been involved in the process of getting it ready. Three managers oversee the operations, finances, and marketing of the business. These managers tend to work through the everyday processes of Sip’s Coffee Bar. Miller oversees the “bigger picture” items such as working towards getting more food items into the coffee bar. There is also a team of employees that work at the coffee bar daily and oversee making sure the coffee bar is closed and opened.
“I love getting to work with some of the creators of Sip’s behind the scenes. It is awesome to see that it is college students who are able to organize this whole thing and they are all super nice and helpful whenever I have any questions,” said Averi Wells, a barista at Sip’s.
The idea of a coffee bar was first brought up by Ian Ash ‘24, CEO of Tiger Ventures, during Fire Week last year. Between Spring of 2022 and Fall of 2023, Miller and her team worked hard to get the business up and running. Gabby Conaway, the CEO and Chief Design Officer of Tiger Ventures, created the logo for Sip’s. But before the logo was created, there was a lengthy list of names that were thought over before Sip’s became Sip’s. Miller has barista experience from previous jobs, which helped with the creation of many of the recipes that are used in the coffee bar. Miller also put a lot of thought into what ingredients are in the coffee bar.
“Our coffee beans specifically, are from Boston Stoker. I picked them because they aligned with my values a lot more than other coffee companies. [Since] coffee can be a really unethical industry, [but] Boston Stoker cuts that likelihood of getting unethically sourced beans out,” said Mackee Miller, President of Sip’s Coffee Bar.
Sip’s is located next to Compass in Thomas Library and is open from 8 AM to 8 PM Monday through Thursday and open from 8 AM to 4 PM on the weekends (Friday through Sunday). Behind the coffee bar, is the menu that includes energy drinks, coffees, and teas. Sip’s does not take Wittenberg Gold funds attached to Wittenberg Student IDs, but they do sometimes offer deals promoted on their Instagram account. But they welcome students to stop in for a study treat or a daily treat during those hours!
