Spirit Spot Café is a student-run business at Sergeant Bluff–Luton High School that is part of the Warrior Enterprise Program. The café is run by students Parker Kilburn, Joey Hardy, Makenna Nelson, Izzy Schaap, Hailie Frankl, Abram Keokenchanh, Stella Britton, Jordan Benton, Mason Vandekop, Lilly Smith, Stephanie Krogh, and Lindsay Collins, with guidance from their teacher, Ashley Hansen. The purpose of Spirit Spot Café is to support students and staff during long school days by offering fun drinks and snacks while giving students real experience running a business.
Spirit Spot Café is located right in the classroom and is fully operated by students during class periods. This helps students prepare to serve customers before school, during morning break, and again in the afternoon. The café serves students, staff, and school events and has become a familiar and welcoming place for people to stop during the school day.
The café offers a wide variety of drinks, including lotus energy spritzers, coffee, diet sodas, and non-energy options such as hot and frozen hot chocolate, BodyArmor, chocolate milk, water, and regular soda options. Spirit Spot also provides snack choices meant to help students stay focused and energized throughout the day. Offering a range of options allows students to learn how to meet different customer preferences.
Behind the counter, students take on real responsibilities that help the business run smoothly. Jobs are divided into “front of the house” and “back of the house.” Some students focus on customer service and making drinks, while others handle inventory, stocking, supply runs, and event support. There are also roles in marketing, finance, scheduling, management, and drink inventory. Spirit Spot even allows students outside the class to apply to work, giving more students a chance to be involved.
Through running Spirit Spot Café, students learn important skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, time management, and money handling. Students also create marketing campaigns using social media and school banners to promote the café. As student manager Hailie Frankl shared, “Our mission is to encourage students and staff to keep working hard throughout the day by stopping to grab a little pick-me-up. Running a real business as high school students can be challenging, but the support from our school motivates us to keep serving and giving back.”
Looking ahead, Spirit Spot Café plans to continue improving its menu, organization, and customer service. The students involved are thankful for the support from the school community and are excited to keep growing the business. Spirit Spot Café gives students hands-on experience that prepares them for life after high school while also helping build school spirit one drink at a time.