Cache La Quesadilla 🧀
You had the right idea . . . 💭
Uncovering the Myth: Melted Cheese and Crispy Pockets 💸
Are you a first-year looking for food after a crazy night out? Maybe a $1 quesadilla? Sam LeBlanc ‘20, Cameron MacDonald ‘20, and the rest of their housemates had the answer.
The two of the original founders of the CC quesadilla stand, LeBlanc and MacDonald, got into business in the Fall of 2019. The address: 311 E Cache la Poudre. The draw: $1 quesadillas. The myth in question: did the quesadilla stand use a for-profit business model 📈 ?
Before we dive into the economics behind the first quesadilla stand in 2019, let’s hear what current students and alumni had to say:
Jimmy Andrews ‘25: Yeah, I could see it being profitable. I never went there myself. I took principles of economics with Esther.
Ian Larned ‘24: Eating that quesadilla was one of the greatest days of my entire life. I just remember there was nothing and soon there was everything . . . in the form of a quesadilla.
Ruby Lamb ‘23: The thing about quesadillas is that everyone loves quesadillas. I remember nights where we would go out and not find a party, and then just go to the quesadilla house.
A drunk quesadilla does sound tasty . . . 😋
So, was the quesadilla stand for-profit 💴 ?
“We were just sitting on our porch and we saw hordes of people,” LeBlanc said. “Especially freshman traveling in packs.” I can confirm these packs did exist during the weekend nights out (I was in one).
But the quesadilla stand was not supposed to be unique to the 2019 Fall semester. In fact, there were larger plans for the future intact. LeBlanc said this: “Making money was kind of the goal, but obviously we aren’t making money here. The whole plan was to jack up the prices in the Spring and sell them at Llama’ and actually make some money.”
Business, economics and society major Ben Murphy ‘25 said this about a for-profit business model: You want to position your company or service or organization in a way that your marginal cost of goods is lower than the price you sell to your customers.
To me, this sounds like a great for-profit business model (Until the pandemic hit) 🦠
Other modifications were planned for the 2020 Llamapalooza festival in the Spring Semester. “Part of the idea was at Llama’ there was also going to be a quesadilla with something else in it,” said LeBlanc. “Like, if you knew, you knew.” Sadly, coronavirus wiped everyone from campus in blocks 7 and 8.
Can someone organize a special quesadilla stand in 2024, please? 😅 (Just kidding.)
In more recent news, the residents of 311 E Cache la Poudre brought back the quesadilla stand in 2022. Alumni Nicholas Hoch ‘23 spearheaded its revival and said this:
I thought it was so cool freshman year. I was like yo, this is so much better than a nothing event. I am pretty drunk right now, I am hungry as shit, there are $1 quesadillas, and they are flipping them like crazy.
The economics of the quesadilla stand were still on people’s minds in 2022. “I think we made $1 profit because we ate so many ourselves,” said Hoch. “Our profit margin was not very high.”
I don’t have to be an economics major to know that 😂
Other contributors to the 2022 quesadilla stand had their own goals in mind.
“It’s actually a public health initiative,” said Sophia Hennessy ‘23. “College students are notorious for drinking too much, and quesadillas fill you up with carbs and cheese. It’s not about making money, it’s about providing the public with quesadillas and breaking even.”
Unfortunately, Hennessy was burned by a loose pan one quesadilla night (pictured below).
So, will we see a quesadilla-house in 2023 🤔 ?
I’m not sure, but the economic and cultural potential is available. 💡
‘It was beyond the quesadilla’ - Sophia Hennessy ‘23
Did you read between the lie 📄 ?
If you missed last week’s edition, please see here.
The true stories: Unfortunately, Beer in the Black Forest and the Rastall Commencement were both true stories. The staff that passed driving over Wilkerson Pass was a sculptor and part of the art department here at CC. 63% incorrectly guessed the lie.
The false story: Greasing the Pole was the false story, but CC did used to host the competition in the early 1990s. Luckily, nobody was injured (that we know of) from the tradition. 38% correctly guessed the lie (improvement!)
Reading between the lie 🤐
Naked in Manitou 😅: As a prank, a male student was apparently taken naked in a car to Manitou Springs and dropped off near the roundabout before the turn to hike the incline. The student was a senior and lost a bet, according to a staff member that was on campus at the time of the event. The student was able to grab some clothes from a nearby shop and make their way home . . . but DAMN that is tough 🤣
Energetic doors🚪: This is less of a story and more of a fact: certain doors throughout Tutt Library contribute to the building’s net-0 emission. The heavy doors open and close to produce electricity to support certain engines in the building (from what I understand) — specifically in the “garden level.” I can’t get into the details of how it works (because I don’t know how it works), but just take a mental note to put your back into those doors! 😂
Finding a Sheep’s Heart🫀: The Kappa Sigma (KSIG) fraternity came to Colorado College in 1908 and did not look back (bye, Fiji 😭 ). In the late 1980s, KSIG entered into a science building on campus and stole multiple sheep hearts that were in use for class. First of all, gross. They transported these sheep hearts to the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity and hid them throughout the building. The rancid smell was the first giveaway to the opposing fraternity, and the Fiji brothers were able to locate the hidden hearts. The KSIG cohort who hid the hearts did not get in any trouble, according to the multiple sources I interviewed on the event. That is commitment to a prank! 🪣
Note: These are anonymous submissions about real-life situations. If you have something you would like to share, please submit it here.
Dear campus 📝 ,
It was a summer on campus, I was going for a walk and I had to poop. I had about 5 minutes until I got to Hybl so I thought, it should be fine. I get to Hybl and I cannot swipe into the building (even though I am an RA) … backup plan was Jackson House, so I walk up the steps but realized it was a lost cause …. I went back to sit on the grass because it was running down my legs 😭. I couldn’t walk across campus like that and so I called my friend and told her to open the Jackson door with a rock and leave a towel outside. She kindly did so and looked hella confused. She left me in peace and I was able to shower in Jackson but my black lulu lemon shorts were ruined.