When the Meteor Community Café founding team began transforming the space under the Castor tower into a modern café back in May, there weren’t even locks on the doors yet—but they pulled it off. “Thanks to the tight planning by Sidney den Engelsman, everything went very quickly,” says fellow team member Milja van Rooyen, noting that in February Den Engelsman couldn’t even say when construction might start. “We outsourced the interior design, electrical work, and similar tasks. We did the painting ourselves—it’s perfectly doable and saves money.” She proudly adds, “A state-of-the-art cocktail tap has been installed. Alongside cocktails, it also serves alcohol-free lemonades and iced teas.”

License

As commissioner for external relations, Van Rooyen invested a lot of energy into obtaining the liquor license. “For every student bar manager, I had to submit multiple documents. That’s about thirty students.” The contract with Swinkels brewery was quicker to arrange, as it matched the contract of sister bar Hubble Community Café. Both cafés operate under the Bar Potential foundation.

Meteor is now almost fully shaped according to the community’s wishes. In recent weeks, the doors have been open to anyone wanting a cocktail or other drink. “We really want to welcome non-students too,” says Van Rooyen. “In our view, the gap between staff and students could be smaller. That would also help improve students’ career opportunities.”

Networking

The founding team is also working to involve student teams. “We asked team CASA for input on the lounge design. Team BOOST, which was set up to offer financial support to students, is our partner in reaching out to other student teams. I’ve heard from friends that they miss having a place on campus where they can relax together after work. These days, once they finish their serious tasks, the TU/e buildings where they work are already closed.”

Van Rooyen believes Meteor could also be a great lunch or after-work drinks spot for startup members. “We have a small kitchen and serve nachos, bagels, and bitterballen, among other things.”

Ten dish towels

In these first weeks of operation, there’s time to spot teething problems. For example, they’ve already discovered it’s a good idea to have ice cubes in stock—but that you also need an ice scoop. And that ten dish towels are definitely not enough. Small problems, easy to solve.

The lounge design is proving trickier. When the festive opening takes place on Friday evening, September 5, it will still have no furniture, Van Rooyen knows. “We just don’t have the budget for it right now. We need to generate some revenue first.” The master’s student in Medical Engineering will have spent over a year helping to get Meteor off the ground. “It’s been an educational and enjoyable experience alongside my studies. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” For one thing, she now knows what “entrepreneurship” really means.