BY JEN KOCHAVER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Augsburg may have no shortage of quality coffee locations within walking distance, but this semester, many Auggies were forced to find a new favorite. Over the summer, campus darling Mapps Coffee closed its doors temporarily to renovate and prepare to reopen as Campus Café. The space, located on Riverside Ave next to the Acadia, is still operating under the same ownership, but the coowners, Faruk Cingilli and Abdirahman Kahin, have decided to take their business in a new direction.

The same coffee and tea selection enjoyed in the past at Mapps will still be available, but the menu will now expand to include a variety of authentic Turkish dishes. For those who remember with horror the $8 paninis of mediocre quality that used to be sold by the cafe, fear not; these new dishes are expected to fall within the price range of $5-$15 and be of quality that is at least above mediocre. According to the “Minnesota Daily,” the new restaurant will be led by a chef brought in from Turkey. Food items will include kabobs, gyros, a type of Turkish “pizza” called pide as well as options suitable for people with all range of dietary needs. Cedar-Riverside was Mapps’ original home when they first opened in 2004. As the business grew, Mapps branched out and opened a shop in Midtown Global Market.

Around 2011, the original owners of Mapps sold the building to the current owners. Though they continued using the old logo, the two coffee shops have technically been unaffiliated since that sale. So if you’re a student who’s been looking for your Mapps fix, the Global Market location will do you well, but it’s not the same as the Mapps you’ve been used to. For that, you’ll just have to wait til Campus Café opens its doors which is anticipated to happen before the end of November.

*Featured photo by Jim Pfeffer

This article first appeared in the Friday, November 10, 2017, Edition of The Echo.