Since taking over the Sam Steel Café in Gerald Thomas Hall, Kelley Coffeen has led a team from New Mexico State University’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in developing a retail concept tailored to students’ tastes and budgets.
After months of working with FCS staff and students from her buying class, Coffeen has landed on what she believes is a bankable model. She gave the space a new name, ACES Coffee and Gifts, introduced a streamlined food and drink menu of affordable options, and added a few extra touches to keep customers coming back.
“We decided as a team that we wanted it to be affordable for the students,” said Coffeen, fashion design and merchandising associate professor. “We dropped all the prices, and we tried to keep our markups fairly low where we make a reasonable profit, but we’re not overcharging.”
ACES Coffee and Gifts offers exactly what its name says. It sells 99-cent cups of coffee, customizable espresso drinks, smoothies, specialty teas as well as baked goods like green chile biscuits, croissants and cookies – all made by a student baking team.
On the retail side, it has a selection of ACES and Aggie apparel, hats and accessories made in Las Cruces by Sports Accessories Inc. and a range of wall décor, tote bags, candles and other gifts. A free library nook is also tucked into one of its corners.
For Coffeen, breathing new life into the old space bridges her interests in retail education and teaching. It also brings more food options to the far west side of campus and provides students working behind the counter with valuable customer service experience in a food-service setting. A team of students runs all aspects of the shop.
“It’s been a fun experience,” said Destyni Martinez, a sophomore who helps manage the shop. “I’ve learned about good customer service, working as a team and handling stressful situations. It’s been cool meeting new people and getting to know our regular customers.”
ACES Coffee and Gifts is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to noon Friday. For updates, follow @acescoffee_ on Instagram. To help support the shop, reach out to Coffeen at kcoffeen@nmsu.edu.
A version of this story was published in the fall 2025 issue of Panorama. For more stories, visit https://panorama.nmsu.edu.
-30-
CUTLINE: Manager Destyni Martinez was part of a five-member student team who ran ACES Coffee and Gifts, located inside Gerald Thomas Hall on the New Mexico State University campus. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)