The Vault (Coffee Shop)

The Vault is an unmanned self-serve coffee shop, bakery, book store and center for the arts located in Valley City, North Dakota. In June 2014 The Vault received international attention for its unique business model.[1][2][3]

History

The Vault was the result of a three and a half year renovation project of a former bank building in Valley City, North Dakota. The bank was originally built in 1920 as The Bank of Valley City, later it became Farmer's and Merchant Bank, and was later abandoned. The building was purchased in 2000 by Paul Stenshoel, and the main room of the lower level gifted to David Brekke in 2009 for use as a coffee shop and community center.[4]

Honor System

The Vault has no employees or price scanners. Customers take products and pay via credit card, check or cash on the honor system. There are cameras but their main purpose is intended to be to provide a safe atmosphere. The food and drink are priced, but the books are priced as patrons see fit.[5] In the interview by Boerner, Brekke said that customers have been "15% more honest, than thieving."[6]

Media Coverage

On June 20th, 2014 Aaron Boerner of KVRR Fargo covered story on The Vault focusing on its unique business model. On June 23rd the story was aired by CNN nationally. On the morning of June 24th the story was aired on TV stations across the United States, leading to a subsequent interview by NY Daily News.[7] On June 24th the story was picked up by the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK.[8]

Reaction

Conservative pundit Rob Port editor of Say Anything (blog) praised the business model and stated that The Vault is evidence that the North Dakota oil boom is enhancing life in North Dakota.[9] Conservative pundit Ed Morrissey praised the business model and the community but the blamed the need for it on minimum-wage hikes and labor loss do to the North Dakota oil boom.[10]

Early public reaction on Hot Air (news site) and Reddit has been mostly positive in regards to the business model and what the business model says about small town USA. Negative public reaction focused on the loss of jobs resulting from such a business model if it were widely used, especially with added automation.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ The Vault Valley City - Press
  2. ↑ CNN.com video
  3. ↑ Daily Mail article
  4. ↑ The Vault Valley City - About
  5. ↑ The Vault Valley City - Honor System
  6. ↑ KVRR Youtube Video
  7. ↑ NY Daily News - article
  8. ↑ Daily Mail - article
  9. ↑ Say Anything Blog - article
  10. ↑ Hot Air - article
  11. ↑ Hot Air - discussion
  12. ↑ Reddit - discussion

External links

  1. . Official site of The Vault.
  2. . The KVRR video as aired on CNN.
  3. . Video of The Vault being discussed on Good Morning Connecticut.
  4. . Video of The Vault being discussed on Abilene Today.
  5. . Article by NY Daily News.
  6. . Article by UK based Daily Mail.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.