Students test out Café 1919

Café 1919’s soft opening began Monday with a week-long mock service for select groups of students.

The goal of the mock service is to serve small numbers of people in controlled quantities to test the readiness of the cafe in areas including service, food preparation and timeliness, said food and beverage director for Housing and Hospitality Daryl Ansel.

Each day, the number of people served per hour has increased by about 50 percent, and about 1,000 people were served on Thursday, Ansel said.

Dining Services issued tickets with a time and date for student leaders and employees to experience the cafe for free for breakfast and lunch Monday through Wednesday, Ansel said. A limited number of tickets were also handed out in Sproul Plaza to students to attend Wednesday afternoon through today.

Everyone who has eaten in Café 1919 this week has been asked to complete a survey about the service, food, decor and overall experience.

Students who tried the food said it was a big improvement from Puzzles Café, the restaurant that Café 1919 replaced.

“You’re definitely getting more bang for your swipe,” said Grace Choi, a fourth-year political science student who works for UCLA Housing Services.

The gelato is an improvement from the ice cream served at Puzzles, said Natalie Knight, a fourth-year political science and communication studies student who also works for UCLA Housing Services.

Students who never experienced Puzzles had more mixed reactions toward Café 1919’s food.

“The panini tasted like I was eating a heated (Bruin Cafe) sandwich, but smaller and oilier,” said Carin Kellzi, a first-year physical sciences student and dining and environmental representative for the A Building in Hitch Suites.

Despite the disappointing lunch on Tuesday, Kellzi said she enjoyed her breakfast of mochaccino and panettone on Wednesday.

First-year pre-psychology student Hyacinth Noble had the opposite reaction to her food.

The external vice president for Hitch Suites’ A Building said her panini was delicious, but her hot vanilla tasted like water.

“The hot vanilla (at Bruin Cafe) is delicious,” Noble said. “This is nasty.”

Each day after the mock service, Ansel has met with his senior team and management team to discuss how the day went, what issues arose and what solutions can be applied for the next day, he said. They discuss the surveys, their own observations and comments on public forums such as Facebook and Twitter.

Next week, Café 1919 will start charging swipes for meals, and residential buildings will be invited on a rolling basis, said assistant vice chancellor for housing and hospitality Pete Angelis.

“When you open an operation, everything’s on paper,” said Café 1919 manager Jeff Berman. “It’s about flow, and it’s very difficult to measure flow on paper.”

Berman said the two-week training period for Café 1919 employees was a vast difference from what he experienced as the opening manager for the residential restaurant Rendezvous in 2006 and Bruin Cafe in 2004, where there were almost no training periods.

“Our department has been very understanding in giving us time for training to ensure that the team is prepared and ready,” Berman said.

This preparation included making sure employees are able to use the equipment properly and serve customers within five minutes of their order, Ansel said. Employees also spent time learning Italian with flashcards so they could properly greet customers and explain menu items.

The surveys from Tuesday indicate that most customers were either satisfied or very satisfied with the food and service, Ansel said.

“We’re looking forward to opening and being able to achieve everything we’ve set out to achieve,” he said.