If Okenshields, the Ivy Room and free popcorn are not satisfying your need for convenience and farm fresh ingredients at Willard Straight Hall, a new dining option, Straight From the Market, is slated to open for business next month.
The new cafe seeks to ease the lunchtime rush and provide a “quick Convenience Market concept for our Central Campus community,” said Mark Anbinder, web communications manager for campus life marketing and communications, in an email to The Sun.
“We wanted to do something a little different! Students have been telling us that they want to eat more farm-fresh food, more whole ingredients, and so that’s what we’re striving for here,” Anbinder told The Sun.
Some of the produce will be sourced from Cornell and local farms, according to Anbinder.
“This fall, we’re bringing in squash, apples, and cucumbers from local farms and from right here at Cornell,” Anbinder said. “Our own Cornell Hydroponic Gardens will be harvesting fresh greens, tomatoes, herbs, and cucumbers in a few weeks, and we’ll be shifting to use those supplies as long as we can.”
The selection available will include self-serve by-the-pound items — like fresh and marinated vegetables, a hummus and tapenade bar, salad fixings and Cornell Dairy ice cream — as well as chef-inspired daily selections, customizable trail mix, soups and snack items, according to Anbinder.
Straight From the Market will be located on the main floor of Willard Straight Hall above Okenshields and will include a cafe-style seating area and access to the recently renovated Willard Straight Hall Terrace Lounge.
The new project is being installed in the space left by Cascadeli, an eatery that served sandwiches in WSH for years.
Though a mid-August opening was initially planned for the market, the renovations for the space dealt with several hiccups and changes in planning, including painting and repairing signage, not an uncommon occurrence for small spaces in old buildings, according to Anbinder.
Chris Muehl, a project manager for Streeter Associates, the contractor completing the renovations, said they expect to finish and turn the space over to Cornell Dining by the end of this week.
Anbinder noted that “some invite-only preview events prior to the official opening” are being scheduled.