Contributed ORDER UP – Hospitality and tourism students at Buckeye Local High School view one of many orders placed online by a student or staff member for the cookies and beverages they serve at the school’s new Panther Café. Among many students who work the concession stand are Emma McFadden, from left, Hannah Langsdorf, Liv Takach and Horge Alvarez.

RAYLAND — Students in Buckeye Local High School’s hospitality and tourism course are gaining firsthand experience in sales through the school’s new Panther Cafe.

Found in the Panther Den, a student lounge recently added at the school, the café is a concession stand where teens in Luke Fabry’s hospitality and tourism classes serve up cookies, coffee and other beverages on a daily basis.

Fabry noted that to comply with school regulations, the food isn’t served during school lunch hours so it won’t compete with the school’s nutrition program.

He said students and staff may place their orders online and have them delivered to their classrooms, pending each teacher’s policy for food there, or simply walk up and make a purchase in person.

Fabry confirmed cash purchases are an option, as his students conduct both online and traditional transactions.

He said a student suggested selling coffee to faculty and it snowballed into the café’s current operations.

In addition to serving up coffee, tea, cocoa and frappucino, students at the café sell cookies baked by students in his classes and dubbed the Panther Big Bite for the school’s mascot.

About 3.2 ounces and 4.5 inches wide, the cookies come in various flavors from day to day, with chocolate chip being the most popular.

Like most of the food prepared by Fabry’s students, they are made from scratch.

The teens are encouraged to provide input into the product they sell, with Jackie Richardson, a senior who has since graduated, perfecting the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies.

About four students work the stand, a unique feature created from boards cut from trees that were removed from an area near the school’s football field by Mason Boyce, a local volunteer.

Fabry said his current students and students from the last three years, during which the culinary and hospitality courses were started and developed, will be invited to sign the counter.

Fabry said the café is a work in progress.

“We’re going to get uniforms and do all of the things we need to do to run a business,” he said.

Fabry said the venture already is doing great business, with 255 of more than 300 Buckeye students purchasing food from it through their online accounts.

He said proceeds from the sales will go to the students’ participation in Cook Around the World, a culinary competition for students held at Walt Disney World

Fabry noted last year, a shrimp paella dish and Mediterranean salad created by his students received an award for the most attractive among 85 entries.

“I’m so proud of them,” he said of the students, who prepared the meal on-site in 90 minutes.

Fabry also is enthusiastic about the Panther Café.

“I’m excited about this. I think it’s great for the kids because it’s real-world experience,” he said.