Story and photos by Kimberly Hood
For Pierce LaMacchia (’12) and Joe Seiber (’07), their time at the University of Tennessee didn’t end after they walked across the graduation stage. As alumni, they have returned to their beloved school as entrepreneurs, bringing local flavors to the Vol Dining lineup. Knoxville-native LaMacchia, founder of K Brew, and Seiber, originator of Status Dough, have recently partnered with Vol Dining to elevate the student dining experience through craft coffee and premium, small-batch doughnuts.
Photo by Rebecca McKnight
“We are excited to breathe new life into our dining spaces with these local partnerships,” said Director of Vol Dining Amanda Hough. “It is such an exciting time to be on campus as we experience record enrollment numbers and an opportunity to provide students, faculty, staff, and visitors with quality options that highlight our efforts toward sustainability and local flavors. Through these new locations, we want to provide a variety of delicious and convenient food choices that not only meet the diverse dietary needs of our students, but also enhance their overall campus experience.”
When approached about partnering with Vol Dining to bring his business to the campus he loved, LaMacchia jumped at the opportunity.
“I graduated in 2012, and a little over ten years later, K Brew is coming to campus at my alma mater,” LaMacchia says. “I remember being on campus, and coffee got me through a lot of late nights, early mornings, tests, and exams, so for K Brew to do that for the students as a service is just so special to me and a big source of pride.”
LaMacchia opened his first K Brew location in 2013, settling on a 450-square-foot space on North Broadway in Knoxville and bringing to life a dream that took root during a family road trip to the Pacific Northwest in 2008.
Photo by Rebecca McKnight
“We saw the amazing coffee going on over there, and we really got inspired to bring that back to Knoxville,” LaMacchia says. “I wanted to start K Brew very specifically because of the need in Knoxville for better coffee – craft coffee, in particular. That was really the problem we were trying to solve, but I also just had a heart for hospitality, so the idea of human connection and people being together drinking coffee or interacting with the baristas was near and dear to my heart.”
K Brew has since expanded into three additional Knoxville locations plus two K Brew Express stores on campus, serving up craft coffee and New York style bagels with a side of southern hospitality. The first campus K Brew Express opened in January 2024, and its location in the Haslam College of Business was a perfect fit.
Coffee got me through a lot of late nights, early mornings, tests, and exams, so for K Brew to do that for the students as a service is just so special to me and a big source of pride.
Pierce LaMacchia (’12)
Founder of K Brew
“We looked through several different locations and finally found the Haslam College of Business, where I’m an alum,” LaMacchia says. “It was just a wonderful experience of envisioning and engineering what that might look like, to provide a great place for our students.”
As well as providing an ideal study spot and dining option for students in a building where he spent hundreds of hours during his time at UT, the placement also allows current students to see an entrepreneurial success story up close on a daily basis.
In addition to the Haslam location, there is also a K Brew Express in Fred Brown Hall, as well as drip coffee stations in Stokely Dining Hall and Smokey’s.
Beyond bringing K Brew onto campus, LaMacchia has also become very involved with the UT Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, serving as a judge for a several student pitch competitions and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs as a featured speaker.
A love of UT and Knoxville is something that LaMacchia and Seiber have in common, and that love became one of the driving forces behind Seiber and fellow UT alum Jimmy Wooten (’03) founding Status Dough.
“I loved Knoxville. I was always looking for a way to move back down here,” Seiber says. “My career in sales had moved me all over the country. I noticed a couple other places had started selling more premium products, especially in the bakery industry, and they were doing quite well here (in Chicago). So, I felt that if someone was going to offer that type of a product in Knoxville, it was going to be me.”
With four years of experience making doughnuts as a partner in a company in the Chicago area, Seiber set out for Knoxville to bring premium craft doughnuts to a community he loved.
To be an alum and have the opportunity to partner with the university, it’s an opportunity that’s kind of a dream come true.
Joe Seiber (’07)
Originator of Status Dough
“We started here in Knoxville in 2017,” Seiber says. “Everything is made from scratch in-house. All of our icings, all of our glazes, our jellies – everything is made fresh. We spare no expense in terms of the quality. It’s a little different than what most people’s experiences with doughnut shops had been.”
Status Dough has since expanded to three Knoxville storefronts and opened a campus shop in Vol Hall ahead of the Fall 2024 semester, something that Seiber considers a dream come true.
“We’re very excited to be here. I never really thought it would happen. I think back to my days here, from ‘02 to ‘07, when I was a student. I never would have thought that I’d be sitting here today owning a doughnut shop and working and partnering with UT,” Seiber says. “When I graduated, I moved all over the country in various states and wanted to move back, eventually. So, to be an alum and have the opportunity to partner with the university, it’s an opportunity that’s kind of a dream come true.”
As part of that dream, he hopes Status Dough can play a role in creating memories that students will cherish for years to come.
“I remember touring the campus with my mom all the way from Wisconsin. We flew down, and everyone was yelling, ‘Go Big Orange!’ when we were walking by the streets. If this is successful in my eyes, it’s my hope that the incoming freshmen in their walks around campus are being taken to Status Dough to get a doughnut, because I think that it’s going to be an experience that they’ll probably remember for a long time with their parents.”
Not only do these partnerships underscore UT’s commitment to providing high-quality food and beverage options to students on campus, but also the idea that no matter where life may take you after graduation, Rocky Top will always be home sweet home.
