LA GRANDE — Genuine Foods took over dining operations at Eastern Oregon University in fall 2024, and the company was quick to reshape supplies — starting with substituting its Starbucks brew with local coffee.

EOU’s caffeine arena overhaul discontinued “Starbucks Proudly Serve.” In its place is close-to-home independent coffee company, Sorbenots. The Baker City roaster has a shop on Adams Avenue in La Grande, in addition to three drive-thru locations in neighboring counties.

“I think people appreciate local and it does tie to what we’re already doing in the towns around, including La Grande,” Jason Stone, Sorbenots vice president and chief financial officer, said.

As a smaller vendor, Genuine Foods stages their business model on local, community-centric businesses. The partnership with Sorbenots highlights its commitment to sourcing from the local area, said Paula Reichel, chief innovation officer at Genuine Foods.

“One of the things we wanted to do when we opened at EOU was to really lean into a part of what we do that resonated with them, and that’s really working with small local businesses,” Reichel said.

Beverages, including specialty coffee and Lotus energy drinks, are available at Mac’s Grill on the first floor of the Hoke Union Building. The dining stations are open to walk-ins from the public, in addition to students.

Sorbenots has garnered a reputation in Eastern Oregon as a high quality roaster and community fixture in Baker City for nearly 30 years. The business opened in a trailer in November 1995 as Cappuccino Cowboy, stocking just eight variations of coffee.

In 2002, the business was rebranded to Sorbenots — Stone Bros spelled backward — to align with the brothers, Jason and Philip Stone, who spearheaded the business. Andrea Stone, who is married to Philip, was also part of the company’s launch.

Partnering with EOU

Ron Wheeler, food service director at EOU, reached out to every local coffee roaster and three or four businesses showed interest, Reichel said.

Antlers Espresso and Starkey’s were two of the companies who responded to Wheeler’s proposal and were considered — but didn’t make the final cut.

Wheeler held tours with the prospective coffee partners. Jason and Philip Stone attended as well as the company’s retail manager.

Jason Stone said the space available at EOU was appealing and had potential for selling their coffee.

Following the tour, Sorbenots was the front runner, which was due to more than just their high quality product, Reichel said.

“They were really excited about the opportunity and able to provide a lot of support to ensure that everything launched successfully,” Reichel said.

Genuine Foods’ desire for the change happened at a time of Starbucks fatigue the university was said to be experiencing, Reichel said. She recognized that some consumers may be unsure of the change.

“For every person who might be change-averse, there were also people hoping for something new,” Reichel said. “Because Starbucks had been there for so many years, some people were looking for something different.”

Stone said Sorbenots had never franchised before, so this is new territory. Following deliberations, they settled on EOU using the Sorbenots logo and products but operating autonomously. Sorbenots supplies the products and Genuine Foods shaped the project.

Sorbenots created a “Mountie Blend” exclusive to EOU.

Balancing quality and demand

Reichel said in the cooler months of fall and winter, transforming the demand and quality of coffee on campus is a priority.

Stone said having a product that overrides students’ desire to make coffee in their dorm is essential to business. The recipe for success is good customer service coupled with a high quality product, which applies to the university too, he said.

“In the coffee industry, it’s easy to make shortcuts. For example, using lesser quality coffee beans with higher quality coffee beans, and that’s something we’ve never done,” Stone said.

He has revisited the campus since Sorbenots was installed and is impressed by the project.

Sorbenots’ roots

In the mid 1990s, Stone said drive-thru coffee stands were a fairly new concept found in metropolitan areas such as Portland and Seattle.

“We just saw it as an opportunity to provide something in Baker that was gaining popularity on the west side of Oregon,” Stone said.

Inspired by her Italian roots, Stone’s mother, Donna, roasted her own coffee. The activity quickly aligned with the vision the brothers had in 1995.

“Over time, we absorbed that into our company but for a long time, she was our roaster,” Stone said.

“We have a strong connection to Eastern Oregon, so it was easy to get the community behind us, especially just because we’ve always given back to the community so it created a really good relationship,” Stone said.

Stone said Sorbenots’ support of community initiatives and nonprofits has sustained their business over the decades. The company’s advertising is all through donations, which they have consistently invested in local youth such as supporting afterschool programs in the community.

“I think that’s also big nowadays, and at least in Eastern Oregon, everyone’s very aware of who helped,” Stone said.

Hot on cold brew

Cold brew, with a low acidity level, is an evolving product in the coffee industry gaining more popularity, Stone said.

Reichel called Sorbenots’ cold brew process “innovative” which resonated with Genuine Foods’ commitment to serving high quality coffee to EOU students and patrons.

Stone echoes Reichel’s enthusiasm around cold brew and called it a “must try.” The delicate curation process is something the company is most proud of, Stone said.

“I don’t know if anyone offers decaf cold brew that I know of, but being this new process that we’re doing, we’ll be able to offer single serve decaf cold brews,” Stone said.

Sorbenots decaf cold brew is set to debut on campus this spring.

“For every person who might be change averse, there were also people hoping for something new. Because Starbucks had been there for so many years, some people were looking for something different.”

— Paula Reichel, chief innovation officer at Genuine Foods