The Bryan Center Cafe is undergoing extensive modifications to both its facilities and its fare in an effort to "create a new revenue stream and make it more convenient for [customers] to get good food in an expedient way," said James Wulforst, director of dining services.
The Cafe will reopen in time for the fall semester. In the interim, the Perk in Perkins Library-as a sign in the Bryan Center attests-is "open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., for your coffee pleasure."
Wulforst said the renovations will result in four major changes to the layout of the Cafe:
¥ Two-thirds of the patio will be enclosed in glass while part of the cement wall separating the opposite side of the old cafe from the study sections will be removed. This additional space, Wulforst said, will double the seating capacity;
¥ New soft lighting, study lighting, furniture and carpets will be installed;
¥ Three more computers will be added to the computer station already positioned by the concession area;
¥ A study carrel will be constructed around the computer located by the piano on the upper level.
The changes are occurring because the current cafe could not adequately handle the amount of traffic in the Bryan Center, Wulforst said. "It didn't lend itself to conversation and comfort," he said. "We're looking for a living room atmosphere."
Additionally, the menu at the Cafe will be expanded to include specialty sandwiches and salads as well as more desserts, including ice cream and gelato. Highlights from the menu include everything from sandwiches of "grilled vegetables on a Tuscan roll with pesto" to "chunky chicken noodle" soup to bagels with lox-flavored cream cheese. The new menu will also boast a greater array of pastries, muffins and coffee products.
Wulforst said he thought the menu changes would increase Cafe revenue by taking better advantage of the highly-trafficked Bryan Center. "We're expecting a 20-percent increase in our transaction level," he said.
Michelle Belden, Trinity '97 and a Cafe employee, said she thinks the changes are positive but dislikes the inconvenience of working at the Perk over the summer. "I'm nostalgic for the way its been," she said. "I've been working [at the Cafe] for two years."
Cafe patrons also expressed dissatisfaction with its temporary close.
"It disrupts my schedule," said Liam Duffy, a research associate in physics. "I have to come all the way over [to the Perk]."
The renovations in the Cafe will cost about $600,000 and will be funded from a variety of sources within dining services, Wulforst said.
The funding sources include the $100,000 currently saved each year by dining services as a result of several internal changes Wulforst made after he came to the University in November.
William Hunt, the supervisor of the Cafe, declined to comment on the changes to the facility.
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