The Meantime Coffee

What The Meantime Coffee does

The Meantime Coffee is a student-run, nonprofit coffee shop founded in 2016 and operating on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. The company runs two physical cafe locations — the original "Meantime at the Campus Y" and a second cafe, "Meantime at the Junction," which opened in 2025 — serving specialty coffee beverages, espresso drinks, and food items to the UNC campus community. Every employee, from barista to CEO, must be a full-time UNC student, which the organization frames as both a professional development pipeline and a defining brand element under the "Students Empowering Students" tagline.

Revenue is generated through in-person retail coffee and food sales at the two cafes, branded merchandise (winter apparel, sweatshirts, hats), and gift cards sold via the ToastTab platform. The business reinvests operating surplus into the campus community through a Social Impact Grant program that funds student-led social entrepreneurship, and pursues a sustainability strategy built around compostable supplies and a composting partnership with CompostNow. Core supply and community partners include Carrboro Coffee Roasters (coffee sourcing), Ninth Street Bakery, Arteao, Walamob, and the Orange County Living Wage advocacy organization.

The go-to-market is entirely direct-to-consumer and community-driven, with marketing conducted through Instagram, an email newsletter, and the company website. No proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, pricing data, revenue figures, or headcount disclosures are present in the source material; the organization is a privately held nonprofit with no funding rounds, no parent company, and no subsidiaries.

Name

The Meantime Coffee

Legal name

Meantime Coffee

Website

https://themeantimecoffeeco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Student-run nonprofit coffee shop operating two physical cafes on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, employing only full-time UNC students and reinvesting profits into a Social Impact Grant program for campus social entrepreneurship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Shop

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDALADAG

Coffee Shops, Cafés & Beverage Programs

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Dining, Food Services & Campus Retail

SECONDARYTHAFADAC

Independent Neighborhood Cafes

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Cafes & Coffee Shops

SECONDARYTHAFADAA

Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave)

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Cafes & Coffee Shops

SECONDARYEDALADAO

Off-Campus Dining Partnerships & Delivery Programs

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Dining, Food Services & Campus Retail

Keywords

• Specialty coffee retail
• Nonprofit coffee shop
• Student-run cafe
• Coffee beverages
• Community coffee

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee and Food Sales: The Meantime generates revenue through in-person retail sales of coffee beverages and food items at their two physical cafe locations. Sales are one-time transactions at point of sale.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Meantime Coffee is a student-run, nonprofit coffee shop that sells specialty coffee beverages, espresso drinks, and food items from two physical cafe locations at UNC-Chapel Hill: Meantime at the Campus Y (flagship) and Meantime at the Junction (second location, opened in 2025). All employees are full-time UNC students, and the organization reinvests profits into the campus community through a Social Impact Grant program supporting student social entrepreneurship. The shop also sells branded merchandise and gift cards (via ToastTab), and partners with local suppliers including Carrboro Coffee Roasters and CompostNow for sustainability.

Product overview

The Meantime Coffee operates as a single-location (with a second location launching) student-run nonprofit coffee shop at UNC-Chapel Hill. The core offering is specialty coffee service, supplemented by branded merchandise and gift cards. The company is structured around two physical cafe locations—Meantime at the Campus Y (flagship) and Meantime at the Junction (newly opening)—providing coffee, specialty drinks, and related food items. Additional offerings include gift cards sold through ToastTab and a Social Impact Grant program supporting student entrepreneurship. The company positions itself as a community-driven organization with sustainability initiatives and local partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Meantime at the Campus Y: Original cafe location at the UNC-Chapel Hill Campus Y building.
• Meantime at the Junction

Products and services

• Meantime at the Campus Y The original flagship cafe at UNC-Chapel Hill's Campus Y building, serving specialty coffee drinks, espresso beverages, and food items to the campus community. All staff are full-time UNC students.
• Meantime at the Junction Second cafe location at the Junction on the UNC-CH campus, opening in 2025 to expand access to specialty coffee across the university community.
• Branded Merchandise Meantime-branded consumer products including winter apparel, sweatshirts, hats, and other accessories available for purchase, promoted as gifts and self-purchase items.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards for Meantime Coffee, sold through the ToastTab platform for use at both cafe locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Decreases environmental footprint through compostable supplies and waste reduction initiatives

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Campus YcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus Y is a UNC-Chapel Hill student organization. The Meantime operates 'Meantime at the Campus Y' as their original and primary cafe location, embedded within the Campus Y facility.
• Ninth Street BakeryminorOthersLocal bakery partner whose logo appears on the website as part of Meantime's partner network.
• ArteaominorOthersPartner whose logo appears on the website as part of Meantime's partner network.
• Orange County Living WageminorOthersAdvocacy organization partner. Meantime supports living wage initiatives, aligning with their community-driven mission.
• Carrboro Coffee RoasterscoreOthersLocal coffee roaster partner. Meantime sources and serves coffee from Carrboro Coffee, supporting local suppliers.
• WalamobminorOthersPartner whose logo appears on the website as part of Meantime's partner network.
• CompostNowcoreOthersComposting service partner that supports Meantime's sustainability strategy. Meantime uses compostable supplies and partners with CompostNow to manage organic waste reduction.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Open Eye Café: Independent specialty coffee shop rooted in the Carrboro/Chapel Hill community. Comparable as a locally operated, mission-driven cafe competing for the same UNC-area student and resident coffee traffic.
• Cup A Joe: Long-standing independent coffee shop in Chapel Hill. Directly comparable as a community-oriented cafe serving the same UNC student and Chapel Hill customer base with similar specialty beverage positioning.
• La Vita Dolce: Chapel Hill-based espresso and coffee bar. Comparable in format, location overlap, and product mix (espresso-driven menu) to Meantime's cafes within the same local market.
• Bean Traders: Chapel Hill independent coffee shop with a community gathering focus. Comparable as a locally owned cafe serving UNC students and Chapel Hill residents with similar specialty coffee offerings.
• Carrboro Coffee Roasters: Local Carrboro-based coffee roaster that supplies Meantime and also operates its own cafes. Directly comparable as a specialty coffee operator in the same micro-market with overlapping wholesale and retail dynamics.
• Joe Van Gogh: North Carolina-based specialty coffee roaster with a network of cafes across the Triangle region. Comparable as a regional specialty coffee operator serving similar quality- and community-conscious customers.

Broad incumbents

• Counter Culture Coffee: Durham, NC-based specialty coffee roaster with national reach and training centers. Comparable at the category level as a North Carolina specialty coffee operator, though at much larger scale and broader wholesale scope.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: National specialty coffee chain with a strong sustainability and quality narrative. Comparable to Meantime in mission-led, premium positioning, but operates at vastly greater scale and capital intensity.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Established specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator. Comparable in specialty-coffee positioning and cafe-retail model, though with a national footprint and parent-company backing Meantime lacks.
• Starbucks: Global coffee incumbent with significant presence on the UNC campus and throughout Chapel Hill. Sets the baseline competitive benchmark for campus coffee accessibility, price, and convenience against which Meantime's mission differentiation is judged.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/meantimecoffee
• Xx.com/meantimecoffee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-meantime-coffee-co.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Meantime Coffee