Common Grounds celebrated its five year anniversary on Nov. 14 with a $50 scavenger hunt and discounts on drinks all week.

The coffee shop started out as a DECA project. The students were learning to coordinate with others in order to get products on the shelves.

Common Grounds coffee beans are sourced from Costa Rica and Columbia; the beans are roasted by PT’s Coffee, which has locations in Kansas City and by Washburn University.

Common Grounds’ own unique blend, Blend 437, is available for sale at Hy-Vee and at Common Grounds. Common Grounds and Blend 437 were featured in a magazine produced by Hy-Vee and the magazine was distributed to all Hy-Vee employees nationwide.

Last year, the coffee shop paid off the loan it had taken out in order to fund its inception, and has since given all proceeds back to the students and DECA club.

In addition to funding DECA’s trips to conferences of Gold Certified Businesses, Common Grounds likes to pay it forward by channeling the remaining money into scholarships for businesses, among other things. The coffee shop pays for the t-shirts freshmen receive at the beginning of the year.

“The best part about working in the coffee shop is working with the other staff and the interactions we have with our regular customers,” senior Caitlyn Halsey said.

The combination of juniors and seniors who run the coffee shop learn many valuable life skills.

“I have learned how to manage money, budgeting and customer service as well as how to work with a team to get things done,” senior Tateum Hughes said.

Common Grounds sponsor Brian McFall said there are many different jobs for students in the coffee shop.

“The juniors tend to make the drinks and the seniors manage or oversee everything,” McFall said. “There are about six students in the morning and about nine at lunch with a rotating lunch schedule.”