Dany Cruz, Special to The Denisonian–
Three days of the week, Denisonians get to enjoy something different at Slayter.
Open from 6:30-11pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, students get a chance to try uniquely crafted sodas and other flavored drinks made by other Denison students at Sips.
The idea behind Sips began when Lexi Christenson ‘28 got tired of having to drive down the hill to get a late-night beverage. She then proposed the idea of a late night, non-alcoholic drink spot on campus to the Red Frame Lab.
After participating in the Red Start Up Pitch Competition last year, Christenson and her business partner worked with Denison dining over the summer of this year to ensure Sips would be good to open this fall.
“We still had a lot to do and a lot to learn,” she said. “These past few weeks of school have been stressful! We’ve been running from meeting to meeting to make sure everything goes well.”
The Sips menu ranges from lemonade to matcha to fizz drinks. These unique drinks are at the heart of what makes Sips different from a drink in Common Grounds on any other day.
It’s a chance to get something other than a cold brew or a latte. In some ways, their drinks are reminiscent of more popular drink chains that aren’t as readily able to students. Now they are able to be found just a few minutes away from student dorms.
Christenson “loves trying new combos and just making fun drinks” and these values can’t be more apparent in the creations found at Sips. Each drink allows for a chance for customization, creativity or just something “fun,” as she said with their build-your-own (BYO) options on their menu.
In addition to those customizable options, Sips also has pre-set menu items. Some of these menu items include Strawberry Fields, a matcha drink with strawberry and vanilla flavoring, Banana Pancakes, a latte with caramel, vanilla and banana flavoring and Kokomo, lemonade with pineapple and coconut flavors. The options range widely.
While Sips occupies the same space Common Grounds does, entering during the hours of the week they take over makes the place feel different. It’s the small things, such as the different menu displayed and the students working in place of adults.
“A lot of people enjoying Sips makes me feel good,” worker V Esquivel ‘29 said.
Every week, staff prepare a “drink of the week,” announced on their Instagram page, @sips_denison. Their drinks are served into the late night, optimizing Christenson’s idea of a late night drink.
Last year, Sips operated through pop-ups around campus. This year, it’s a fully fledged business with operation hours, a place and eager staff. Sips has also increased the number of jobs on campus with students being baristas.
When asked what she’d say to people who wish to do something similar on campus, Christenson said, “Identify a mentor to help you even if it’s just a thinking process. I don’t think every idea is achievable under constraints but you can map out any idea and identify your audience. You never know where it will go!”
There are possibilities to start similar businesses through the Red Frame Lab at Slayter, which is where Christenson started Sips and where TruCha, their upstairs neighbor, also began. All it takes is an idea and initiative.
“Sips is still relatively small today,” Christenson said. “We are hoping to reach more people across campus.”
They hope to expand their hours of service to reach more Denison students.