When the dining hall coffee tastes a little too burnt, there is only one (convenient) place you can turn to: Mary Low Coffeehouse. With its comfy couches, seasonal specials, and artsy atmosphere, the coffeehouse is one of the cosiest spots on campus. Whether meeting with a professor, hanging out with friends, or just trying to get some work done, Mary Low is as versatile as it is popular.
Aubrey Adkins `25 is a coffeehouse regular and has been for all four of her years at the College.
“Mary Low is my absolute favorite space on campus, and I think it’s also a really important space for the Colby community. It’s unlike anywhere else on campus—student-run, super cozy, and the option to grab a sweet treat,” she said.
However, coffeehouse regulars have noticed a harrowing change to their caffeine fix. This semester, coffee prices have soared. The coffeehouse is one of the only places on campus that deals with real money instead of meal swipes, but it is quickly becoming inaccessible for those who cannot afford the increasing prices.
Adkins was shocked with the sudden price change the week of February 24.
“I was definitely taken aback by how much the prices increased – my daily coffee went from $5.40 to $7.29, which adds up a huge amount over time. I’m fortunate enough to be able to still be able to afford the new prices with my campus jobs, but I think the increases are going to make Mary Low a lot less accessible for many students,” she said.
Maine’s minimum wage is $14.65 an hour, which is what almost every on-campus job pays. This means that Adkins’s coffee costs 52.2 percent of what she makes in an hour, a price that seems exorbitantly expensive considering the coffeehouse is catering to students whose on-campus jobs, if they even have one, have capped hours.
A main cause of the price increase is the coffeehouse’s profit margin, or lack thereof. Rhea Bakshi `25 is a student manager and pointed out that they needed to raise the prices to stay open.
“We are not making money. In fact, we’re losing money, so we adjusted our prices to reflect how much we are spending in order to mitigate the gap. We rely on the campus events budget and we need to be closer to being self-sufficient to ensure we can stay open in the future,” she said.
Bakshi told the Echo that most drinks have been increased by 50 cents, and they have made 12oz the standard size for drinks, which means drinks are 4oz less and 50 cents more than what they were last semester. It costs a dollar more to get a 16oz drink. However, some smaller drinks, like cappuccinos and macchiatos, have kept the same base price.
The coffeehouse uses local wildflower honey and locally sourced maple syrup from Professor Dan Shea, so any drink with honey or maple syrup will also be a dollar more. Furthermore, an extra shot of espresso is a dollar and non-dairy milks all cost an extra 75 cents because they are more expensive for the coffeehouse to buy than dairy milk. This is a warning to everyone who is lactose intolerant: the economy is coming for you and your oat milk.
While Adkins is sympathetic to the coffeehouse’s plight, she points out that the coffeehouse should not be so tightly budgeted given how much money the College has, including a $1.12 billion endowment, as of 2023.
“I understand that the coffeehouse has been losing money, but for a college with such a large amount of money at its disposal, it feels unfair to offset those losses with students’ money,” she said.
Adkins says that the College is throwing its money around trying to expand instead of focusing on the tried and true community spaces that already exist on campus.
“I think the College is trying to make more community spaces rather than putting money into the ones we already have, which is sad, because I can’t imagine my life at Colby without Mary Low. It’s such a popular hangout and study spot, and transitions really nicely into an event space after it closes for the day, whether that’s for karaoke, Saturday Night Live, or Open Mic Night,” she said.
Bakshi recognizes the financial strain these changes may put on students and offers another way to get Mary Low for those who can no longer afford their coffee.
“Our goal was not to increase so that we were inaccessible to the community. When we did the math, we were supposed to increase each drink by like over a dollar, but wanted to prioritize being affordable for students. Even with this, I know there are students who will not be able to afford their favorite drinks anymore. To those students, I want to emphasize the Take Your Professor to Coffee program, where you and your professor can get a free drink each when you come to the coffeehouse together for office hours,” she said.
This program is a great way for students and professors to get free coffee, but it also highlights the importance of Mary Low to the College’s community. It is a space used for large gatherings and small meetings, accessible to everyone on campus, and works to build the student-professor bonds the College is so proud of. Mary Low is a central part of campus (figuratively), and it deserves more financial support from the College so its (figurative and literal) doors can stay open for every student.
~ Mairead Levitt `25
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