After occupying a small, enclosed space the past few years, the Gate has been opened up - in more ways than one - for the academic year. This fall, students will find a newly renovated retail space with more food and drink options at the Gate.
The renovations, which began last spring and were completed over the summer, included the removal of the two large columns in the middle of the food area and the consolidation of the pizza, deli and panini stations to the far corner near the pizza ovens.
"We decided to create more space to make sure that people could access and enjoy it better," said Jacques Larue, director of retail dining operations. "It was the only way to make more space because there was a big counter in the middle of the room."
As part of Dining Services' Community Harvest Program, the Gate is now serving local soups and using more local ingredients.
"A goal of Dining Services is to develop this program which is using local farmers," Larue said. The program has already been in place at the Sharpe Refectory and the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, but it was not in any retail areas until this year. For example, the new "community harvest pizza" uses only local ingredients.
Also new this year, the Gate will host movie nights and open-mic nights. "I think we could create an atmosphere here," said Larue, who encourages student feedback about the renovations by making a suggestion box available.
In addition to the relocated pizza, panini and deli stations, new menu items are now available. "(Retail dining) wanted to create more and more options for the students ... so this year we have the soup station," Larue said.
There are four soup selections that change daily along with an increased selection of pizza, including wheat crusts, more vegetarian choices and more kinds of calzones, according to Larue.
The two smaller refrigerators that housed beverages were replaced with one large panel built into the back wall where the food preparation area used to be.
The two cashier stations were also moved from inside the food area to just inside the seating area. "It's a lot nicer for the cashiers because before we were enclosed in a small counter and it was a really tight squeeze," said Shatara Francisco '08, who has worked as both a cashier supervisor and food preparer at the Gate in her years at Brown. "There were all these really hot lights that made it really uncomfortable to work in there."
According to Francisco, the new setup should also make the cashiers' job of helping to prevent theft easier because patrons cannot hide items in their bags and clothing from behind the large columns.
So far, students seem to find the new setup a success, lauding both the bigger space and the new food.
"The place to get pizza and sandwiches is in a much better location to the side. There's a lot more open area to walk around, so it's not as clustered in there during mealtimes," Corlis Gross '10 said. "I like it a lot better. ... It's easier to navigate, less crowded and less congested."
For the food preparers, however, the renovations may not be an improvement overall.
"I think it's awesome for the customers, but not so much for the workers," said Hadiza Mohammed '10. "It's so tight in the (cooking) area and it's kind of hot, so they still have some things they need to fix back there."
Joanne Marsella, who has worked at the Gate for about ten years, said the new design was easier for the workers to clean.
"Like any new (venue) we now have to work out the bugs," Larue said. "There are a lot of lines right now ... the line for the pizza, and the line for the deli station, and the line for the paninis, and people are still confused about how it works. ... We're trying to make sure that it works best for the flow in the room."
According to Marsella, there is also room for improvements to the setup for workers. "Maybe the paninis should have their own little area over (in the corner) like the soup," she said.
