Local business owners capitalize on students as consumers, employees

In part three of this three part series, The Volante focuses on a local businesswoman’s achievements in a predominantely male business environment.                  

Among the sound of freshlybrewed coffee spewing from the machine and hushed, frantic gossip conversations of elderly women, college students of all backgrounds can be found studying at one of the corner tables of Café Brulé.

One of more than 300 businesses in Vermillion, Café Brulé plays a distinctive role in the relationship the city has with the University of South Dakota.

John Prescott, city manager of Vermillion, said most Midwestern towns comparable to the size of Vermillion are different, and he attributes this to USD.

“There are a number of things that make Vermillion unique, and I think the university is definitely one of them,” Prescott said. “Another one is the amount of restaurants and the uniqueness they have to offer.”

Since Monica Iverson and her business partner, Jim Waters, bought Café Brulé and expanded it from just a coffee shop into a restaurant and bakery in April 2010, they have made many efforts to be apart of the college town experience at USD.

“We’re not a traditional small town café, and we really wanted to create sort of an international flair (within the café) because we felt like it would attract college students to our business,” Iverson said. “One thing we really wanted to do with this café is make people feel like they could be in a place you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in Vermillion.”

Iverson, a USD alumna and former French professor at the university, and Waters, a former director of food services for USD, said the experiences they have had in Vermillion as well as the hominess the town possesses convinced them to open a business locally.

“We really wanted to stay here and do business in the community,” Iverson said. “We loved the old business and knew how much it meant to people at the university.”

Angeline Lavin, who teaches finance at the Beacom School of Business, said that because of its location in reference to Interstate 29, without USD in Vermillion, the community might be surprisingly different.

“When people think about Vermillion, they usually think about USD and so they’re very intertwined,” Lavin said. “The university and Vermillion are jointly linked, and that’s not going to change, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Prescott also noted that because of USD, a greater amount of people tend to spend time in Vermillion throughout the year.

“With the nature of what the university does, it brings a lot of people into the community,” Prescott said. “Whether it’s for academics, arts, athletic, whatever it may be, they bring a lot of different visitors to the

community.”

Waters said the personality the town has is a direct reflection of USD and the students it attracts, making the city more diverse and interesting.

“There is a very diversified culture in Vermillion,” Waters said. “Vermillion is a five-minute town and people are just relaxed.”

Concurring, Prescott said this kind of culture is something only to be found in a town with a college campus.

“The university brings a lot of diversity to Vermillion,” Prescott said. “I think it’s also the mindset the university offers the community that makes this relationship special because USD brings a lot of different backgrounds and viewpoints you might not see in a similar town that does not have a university.”

According to Prescott, USD is Vermillion’s largest employer, making it a vital aspect in the area’s economic scheme.

“In any community, if you lose your largest employer it’s going to have an impact,” Prescott said. “Our large employer is unique and not only provides a large employee base, but looking at a community of 10,000, like Vermillion, that didn’t have a university is probably going to have a more industrial, or manufacturing based feel to it than what we have here in the community.”

With a workforce of 50 plus part-time employees, the Café Brulé co-owners said probably 30 of those staff members are students. In addition to employing a decent amount of students, Iverson and Waters said allowing aspiring artists to showcase their work in their establishment is another aspect of their business they are proud of.

“It’s really important to us to keep doing this,” Iverson said. “We’re always looking for new talent to bring to the café.”

Adorned on the restaurant’s walls, area art supplier Davida Art Company exhibits both student and local artwork, interchanging the pieces on a monthly basis. Interested buyers have the option to purchase any piece displayed, an opportunity Iverson said is extremely valuable.