Founded in 2016, Meantime is UNC's only student-run cafe. It is currently located on the first floor of the Campus Y building, where they serve a variety of drinks and pastries. The cafe currently employs 32 students and promises all baristas a living wage through their partnership with Orange County Living Wage.
The Innovate Carolina Junction, which opened in September 2023, is the physical space on East Rosemary Street for the Innovate Carolina program -- UNC's program to encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship.
In 2023, Meantime donated a total of $50,000 to community initiatives, including the Campus Y Fund, Durham Public Schools Hub Farm and Refugee Community Partnership. The cafe sources its food products from local businesses and prioritizes sustainability initiatives, with 80 percent of the cafe's waste being either compostable or recyclable.
Rose Houck, the co-founder of Meantime's second location, said Meantime chose the Innovate Carolina Junction due to the organizations' shared goals of connecting members of the greater Chapel Hill community to UNC students.
"By expanding Meantime's footprint to the second location, there's the potential to double the amount of staff, the amount of social impact and all of the other meaningful work we're doing," she said.
Meantime CEO Noreen Mansoor said the Innovate Carolina Junction reached out to Meantime last year to initiate the partnership.
Houck said opening the new location has presented the staff with many unique challenges, but their confidence in their entrepreneurial abilities grew throughout the process.
"We had a very unique team here of very passionate students who care deeply about Meantime," she said.