As the school year begins, the Sellinger School of Business is once again filled with a constant hum of chatter, bustling hallways, and scholarly students. However, this year, the business school will look a little different. Loyola students and staff are excited to announce the newest addition to the Sellinger School of Business, Sellinger Express.
Similar to Bowman Express located in Thea Bowman Hall, Sellinger Express is an Amazon storefront that utilizes Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. The store will not only feature snacks, toiletries, and coffee, but also grab-and-go meals for lunch and dinner. By scanning the GrubHub app or a credit card, Loyola students and staff can pick up items and leave without checking out. The cameras on the ceiling use technology to detect what was picked up and later charge the account automatically.
The market is set to open on Sept. 26 and initial hours will be from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services, Mike Mansfield had a major impact in preparing the market for public use. It began over a year and a half ago when Parkhurst Dining proposed the idea of implementing an Amazon technology-based convenience store. Mansfield explained that Thea Bowman Residence Hall was chosen to be the experimental location due to its lack of food options nearby. Thus, Bowman Express was built and sales eventually began booming.
“We were amazed by the success the store was having. We thought to ourselves, are there other locations on campus that would benefit from this? Sellinger was one of the first places that came to mind,” Mansfield said.
“It’s a very lively building and there’s a lot of classes in here. We have Green and Grey up in the Fernandez Center, so we wanted to put something here. Not a full-service café, but we thought that this would be the next best thing,” Mansfield said.
Mansfield is confident the store will be successful and explained that students find the storefronts convenient and easy to use. Similarly, the Dean of the Sellinger School of Business Mary Ann Scully, is optimistic about the storefront bringing more students to the building.
“We are working very hard at trying to create more awareness of Sellinger on campus. I think that many students find business and the business school intimidating…It’s a beautiful building architecturally, but I don’t think it’s a very welcoming building…,” Scully said.
Scully emphasized that as the number of first-generation students and students of color increases at Loyola, it’s important to also see those numbers correlate within the business school. She hopes this market will help invite historically underrepresented groups into the business school.
“I do believe if you have another excuse to come into this building and it’s to get something different to eat…then it might just send that message that this is a friendly place to be. And you’ll want to learn more about the business school and then maybe more about a business career,” Scully said.
Additionally, Sellinger Scholars President, Matt Rogers ‘26 spoke about his excitement for the store.
“I’m ecstatic about it…We want to give students just one reason to be there and they’re going to realize this is the place for them” Rogers said.
Likewise, marketing major Caty Parson ‘26 feels that this amenity will be beneficial to her.
“I spend a lot of time in Sellinger, so I’m absolutely excited about it,” Parson said.
Loyola hopes to continue to expand its Amazon markets to other areas of the campus. Potential locations include the Fitness and Aquatic Center (FAC) and Ridley Athletic Complex.
To learn more about the Sellinger School of Business, check out Professional Development Week which will be hosted from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1. Visit https://www.loyola.edu/sellinger-business/ or The Bridge for more information.
