Cafe may scrap breakfast menu
Cafe 1919 may close for breakfast if Hill residents don’t show any interest.
By Yanting Li
Oct. 29, 2010 12:10 a.m.
Get some Italian-themed breakfast pastries while you can.
Unless it can attract more customers, Café 1919 may no longer be open for breakfast starting winter quarter.
“Right now we’re looking at it from purely a guest participation point of view, which we constantly evaluate,” said Calvin Farr, the assistant director of Café 1919. “If numbers don’t improve, we might have to consider closing it down for breakfast.”
This year, Café 1919 saw a 52 percent increase in customers for breakfast each day as opposed to last year. Still, substantially fewer students eat at the cafe than at other breakfast restaurants on the Hill.
The increase in demand came mainly from menu development, which included the addition of a breakfast calzone, Farr said. More window signs were also put out to increase advertisement, but it still does not seem to be enough, he added.
“If students want to see it stay, they will have to make it a daily part of their dietary routine,” Farr said.
Having another option open during breakfast hours makes lines shorter for all options and adds variety and convenience, he added.
William Sholan, dining and environment representative for his floor in Rieber Terrace, said the cafe should advertise more to attract customers.
“No one really knows what they’re serving,” said Sholan, a second-year political science student. “A lot of people don’t even know that it’s open for breakfast as an option.”
Students pay for the option to have breakfast there, and unless more people choose to go there it would be a waste of money to keep it open, he added.
Some students said they would be upset if Café 1919 closed its doors for breakfast.
James Nguyen, a first-year undeclared student, said he chooses Café 1919 because of its accessibility.
“It’s very convenient for me to go there as I’m heading down to campus,” Nguyen said. “It’s easy to get in and get out quickly.”
Nguyen said Bruin Café and Rendezvous, the other quick options close to him, don’t have any foods to his liking. He said he thinks a lot of people don’t realize Café 1919 is there in the corner, and other more informal restaurants overshadow it.
On the other hand, some students said they would not be affected by the cafe’s reduced hours.
“I usually eat at other places because the food is more substantial,” said Michael Sandoval, a third-year anthropology and film student who said he has eaten at Café 1919 once or twice this quarter. “A pastry and a coffee is just not very filling.”
Sandoval said he believes most people who eat breakfast are health-conscious and want to eat a meal that will keep them full until noon. Plus, students can get the pastry-coffee combo at Bruin Café as well.
“Basically, 1919 offers only a portion of the choices that other places offer,” he said.
However, both Sandoval and Nguyen said they would be willing to try out new menu items if the cafe offered them.
“I think they should have a more aggressive advertising campaign and put out more signs or bring in new foods,” Nguyen said. “I’d definitely try new items and help save 1919 breakfast.”
