Café L'Entre-2
École secondaire Antoine-de-St-Exupéry

“Build it and they will come,” said the little voice in Kevin Costner’s head in the movie Field of Dreams. And this is probably what the students at Antoine-de-St-Exupéry high school heard when they set up their own student coffee shop called L’Entre-2. In operation for five years, the coffee shop serves some 900 customers a week, stages thematic events and, more importantly, has helped create a strong feeling of belonging within the school community. An example of how a dream can become a success story!

The source of inspiration behind L’Entre-2 can be traced back to 2003 when the members of the student council along with a few teachers and the student life counsellor were already toying with the idea of the project. It was a first for a high school as this type of project is more often than not found in colleges and universities. In order to properly evaluate the relevance of the undertaking, the group asked an external consultant to conduct a market study. The report’s more than favourable conclusions enabled the students to take the path of entrepreneurship.

It was in June 2005 that a dozen students were recruited and were to become the founders of the cooperative. The school administration endorsed the project and provided the organization with free access to a room and, thanks to an agreement reached with the youth centre in Saint-Léonard, they were able to hire a counsellor who would ensure that the coffee shop ran smoothly.

“At the time, the students took charge of everything. They received training, met with suppliers, designed the room, bought furniture and decorated. And it’s still the same today. The coop members have their say in every minor detail. They run the coffee shop entirely and this provides them with excellent entrepreneurial experience” asserts the coffee shop counsellor Nadine Legris.

Over the years, L’Entre-2 has made great progress. Offering students, and even teachers, a choice of sandwiches, soups, muffins, crudités and beverages at reasonable prices, the shop has always made a profit, a sure sign of the management team’s efficiency. Speaking of which, so as to ensure sound management, the administrators have set up four committees – staff committee, finance committee, cultural committee and advertising committee – who ensure that the different activities are smoothly run.

“If we didn’t do the work, the coffee shop would no longer be up and running. We have to look after everything and this is how it should be. It proves to adults that we can be responsible and manage projects wisely,” says the coffee shop’s chairwoman of the board Naritchie Edmond.

L’Entre-2 is open morning, noon and evening throughout the school year and has become an essential place for discussions and getting together at Antoine-de-St-Exupéry high school. Students regularly use it to showcase their academic achievements, it is the venue for improvisation matches, and budding musicians and poets perform there, and all this is done with the goal of establishing strong ties between students and providing the shop with its own unique signature.

Without a shadow of a doubt, LEntre-2 has become one of the driving forces for the pedagogical values advocated at the school. The project fosters socio-community involvement, helps students develop a personal sense of belonging to the school, promotes harmonious multiethnic relations and contributes to curbing school drop out. And for the twelve coop members themselves, the coffee shop not only provides a salary, it also enables them to discover and take part in a true entrepreneurship job experience.

“I have been involved with the coffee shop for three years now and I know I have gained a lot. I have learned all about management and have become more responsible. It’s as though the coffee shop has become a part of me. When you get involved, you make your mark and this is really motivating,” the chairwoman concludes.

Café L'Entre-2
École secondaire Antoine-de-St-Exupéry