The PX Cafe

christian boarding school, vocational business class, college preparatory high school, canyonville, oregon

The PX Cafe

The PXC is a vocational training program that teaches barista and restaurant management skills, as well as customer service and money handling. The PX Café is a working coffee shop that serves the campus of Canyonville Academy only. Students and staff can enjoy a full service espresso menu, as well as teas and blended drinks, pastries, noodles and candy.

The students who participate are trained in the art of making beautiful, delicious beverages, much to the delight of staff and students. Our menu reflects the tastes of our unique population- we have something for everyone. One of our most popular drinks is a Matcha Freeze, a blended drink served with or without espresso shots. It has a delicious blend of cream, milk, vanilla, ice and organic sugar and matcha. All of our blended drinks are popular with the students- we have a mocha Freeze which has white and dark chocolates, a double shot of espresso, cream and milk and ice. Our newest “Freeze”, a tropical drink made with organic mango, peach, passion fruit and mango syrups, cream and milk, is quickly becoming a spring favorite!

College Preparatory Boarding School, Canyonville Academy, in Southern Oregon, recreated their student center, to become a coffee shop
PX Cafe at Canyonville Academy, a College Preparatory Boarding School now boasts of iced coffees, here in the student center

Another popular drink at the PXC was the brainchild of a former student, Miss Lea Leti. Lea had worked in a tea shop the previous summer and had learned a great deal. She made a creamy milk tea and the drink was added and instantly became a crowd favorite, especially with our Asian students who found the drink to be a welcome taste of home. It is available in both black and green tea varieties, and is served iced, but it can be served hot if requested.

Because of the success of the drink students would be encouraged to experiment with drinks during their shifts as time allowed. As a result, another new drink was developed and added to the menu by our student Isabel Ohmes, an Italian soda called Berry Blossom. The Italian soda menu is also a favorite around students, and the new flavor combination has a loyal following who order it time and again. There is another new drink in the pipeline created by a student, a strawberry matcha Freeze, that is incredible. We can’t wait to bring it to our customers very soon!

Students on each shift can expect to follow a state advised sanitation protocol, then fill out a shift checklist that has them checking storage dates on freezer and refrigerated items, temperatures, cleanliness, dates on all pastries. They will also prepare the espresso machine with fresh beans, make hot soapy dishwater and sanitation rinse water. They will take customer orders on our state of the art Point of Sale tablet, prepare drinks and pastries, and clean the dining area. At the end of their shifts they will do another “end of shift” checklist, which will again check the status of the stored food items. In addition, they will do an inventory check and take note of items we are running low on.

When students complete a year of working in the café for roughly the same amount of time each week they spend in their other classes, they will receive a vocational education credit on their transcripts. This credit will help them in many ways- such as standing out to a college admissions board, and counting as actual job experience to potential employers.

The café has become a hub on campus for staff and students alike to live and enjoy time together. We are so blessed to have this incredible training center on our campus!