Campus loses coffee, sushi due to state licensing issue

Students looking for local coffee and sushi on campus will come up dry this week.
On Sept. 19, Food Safety Specialist for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Merri Cross found that both local restaurant Koreana and nearby Bean Masters Inc. do not have the proper licensing for wholesale purposes, which is to sell their product to an institution rather than a standard customer.

Casey DeLima / Chips

Even though there may be a great level of uncertainty about the return of the sushi and coffee, General Manager of Dining Services Wayne Tudor explained that Bean Masters Inc. hopes to rectify the problem.

“The coffee should return next week,” Tudor said. “They are doing what is needed to return the coffee to campus.”

Dining Services has been receiving positive student feedback about K’uun, with comments coming in on the coffee’s flavor and that the coffee is responsibly sourced.

“We will see how students react to the coffee throughout the year,” Tudor said. “My hope is that it will be available all across campus.”

Some students are upset by the sudden removal of K’uun. “I just want the good coffee back,” Joe Lane (‘14) said.

Koreana sushi, however, will be absent from campus for the near future.
“We are waiting to hear back [from Koreana],” Tudor said. “We love doing business with them; I hope we can continue to sell the sushi.”

Casey DeLima / Chips

Nikka Lee, owner of Koreana as well as Cho-Sun, a restaurant serving Chinese food in Decorah, seemed positive about the return of sushi to campus.

“By the middle of October, the sushi should be back on campus,” Lee said. “There are some classes that are required for the proper licensing that were not required in the past.”
Koreana has been selling sushi at Luther for over half a decade, and Lee does not want to see that end.

“The Luther students help a lot for both businesses,” Lee said. “It will be great to have the sushi to return to campus.”

Rachel Brummond (‘15) expressed her melancholy about the absence of the sushi at Marty’s.
“Not having sushi on campus is really disappointing,” Brummond said. “It’s nice to satisfy any sushi craving without the long walk downtown.”

If you desire sushi or the local coffee, rest assured that both items will be back on campus sooner rather than later.