Cleveland has added a new student shopping experience for the 2024-2025 school year. “Grover’s Mall” made its grand opening on Halloween. The mall is a fun shopping center in the Cleveland Cafeteria run by students from the former business program and the current special education class, and contains the new coffee stand, Grover’s Grinds, a vending machine, games, and Cleveland merch.
Grover’s Grinds, formerly Commerce Cafe, is arguably the most exciting development at Cleveland. It provides caffeine for staff and students.
Maria Caudillo, a sophomore at the school, recalled her freshman year, saying, “Last year Commerce Coffee saved me with their caffeine, and I can’t wait to try out Grover’s Grinds soon.”
Commerce Coffee was rebranded to Grover’s Grinds because of the decision to bring back Grover’s Mall. The idea of the mall isn’t new; it was in Cleveland at least 10 years ago and was decided to be brought back. Lureena Weesner, the teacher in charge of the mall said, “The rebranding of the coffee shop was done so that it could fit under the umbrella of Grover’s Mall.”
In previous years the special education program ran the coffee shop, but now students from two classes run the program, “Work Experience,” and “Student Store,” which is made up of students from the disbanded business program. The coffee shop is open during first and fifth periods.
Grover’s Grinds coffee has much to offer, including a delivery service. This cool feature mainly pertains to staff members who are craving a tasty drink. Teachers who would like a drink can call to place an order from Grover’s Grinds, then one of the staffers who is the “runner” of the day will place the teacher’s order and run the drink up to their classroom. Another alternative to this is for teachers to have a TA go down and order/get their drink from the coffee stand. If you are a student at Cleveland who wants to try out Grover’s Grinds coffee, simply ask your teacher if you can head down to fulfill your thirst.
The rebranding and the addition of the coffee shop into Grover’s Mall seems to be a good decision. The rebrand makes it easier for students to run the services and because of the positive reputation Grover’s Mall is getting, this could be a great way to reintroduce the coffee shop.
Grover’s Grinds has already received a positive review from Weesner, who said, “Honestly, I’m not a huge coffee drinker, but I tried Grover’s Grinds and it was very good. I would highly recommend.”
Grover’s Grinds operates out of room 132, starting at 8:45 a.m. during periods 1 and 5, and offers tea or coffee.
In addition to the coffee shop rebrand, the mall has opened up a whole new space for students to enjoy. Grover’s Mall is in the Cleveland Cafeteria and has much to offer, including snacks and a lot of merchandise. Just outside of the mall, there is a brand new vending machine with candy and little snacks, but they don’t have as wide a selection as Grover’s Mall has to offer. In Grover’s Mall, you can buy chocolate bars, chip bags, and occasionally something new such as a homemade brownie or a caramel apple or other goodies prepared by the culinary class. If you are feeling very hungry, worry not as the mall has cups of noodles and popcorn available, too. If that wasn’t enough, Grover’s Mall offers cool merch such as beanies, shirts, and sweatpants!
Grover’s Mall is the new hangout place as there are multiple areas to rest on couches and comfy chairs. They have foosball and ping pong tables and cornhole that are very popular with the students. The vibe in Grover’s Mall is relaxing and fun with colorful decorations and games.
“It’s the best place to buy a cup-a-noodles lunch from,” said Addison Clower, sophomore.
