Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.
In a few weeks, Washington University in St. Louis is set to become a dining destination for not only students and staff, but also the community it serves. University Dining Services has invited popular local restaurants to set up shop on campus this August, just as students begin settling in for the school year. Each restaurant is minority- or woman-owned, and the diverse combination of cuisines creates an experience that goes far beyond typical cafeteria-style dining.
BEAST Barbecue.
BEAST Craft BBQ, owned by David and Meggan Sandusky, will bring their St. Louis-style barbecue and sides to the Parkside Cafe, just east of Brookings Hall. Although BEAST shuttered its location in The Grove earlier this year, the duo operate the original BEAST location in Belleville, Illinois, as well as a food truck and a stall in CITYPARK. Parkside will also be home to LaJoy Coffee Cafe, a coffee shop in Overland owned by LaJoy Dabney. Collins Farm, owned by sisters Sophie and Annie Gianaris, hails from Edwardsville, Illinois, and is known for its healthy options and sweet homemade treats. The duo will be bringing a build-your-own salad station along with fresh smoothies, sandwiches and baked goods to the Law Cafe inside Anheuser-Busch Hall.
Bubble tea from Corner 17.
Also in the mix are two favorites from this side of the river: perennial favorite Corner 17, owned by siblings Xin Wei and Rachel Wei, will be serving Chinese dumplings, bao buns, traditional Chinese desserts, boba tea and a variety of coffee drinks inside the expansive Whispers Cafe inside Olin Library. WashU’s support of alumni-owned businesses can be found all over campus, and Corner 17 is no exception: co-owner Xin Wei is a graduate of Olin Business School. The Fattened Caf, owned by Charlene Lopez Young and Darren Young, will round out the offerings, serving Filipino barbecue plates, vegetarian entrées, breakfast dishes and traditional desserts at Bytes Cafe in McKelvey Hall.
The Fattened Caf owners Darren Young and Charlene Lopez Young.
The initiative to bring local restaurants into the campus dining scene has been years in the making, and the announcement comes just as Coffeestamp celebrates its one-year anniversary on campus. Not long after a series of successful pop-ups on campus, owners (and brothers) Patrick and Spencer Clapp inked a deal with WashU for a permanent home inside Hillman Hall where they sell coffee, tea, empanadas and more. One year ago, Coffeestamp was the only locally owned cafe on campus: In a few short weeks, some of the hottest restaurants in the St. Louis area will join the ranks of what promises to be a dynamic dining scene.
Washington University in St. Louis.
The university provides the space, the equipment and cosmetic updates to the spaces the restaurants will be taking over – a plug-and-play operation which makes the transition easier on the incoming restaurants by significantly reducing time and setup cost. “Part of what we’re trying to do is make sure that we can help provide opportunities for these local restaurants to come in a way that isn’t putting them into a big financial bind,” Andrew Watling, director of dining services at WashU, says. “It allows them to grow at a faster pace than what they’d be able to.” And that extends beyond the initial setup: Coffeestamp just got a midsummer paint refresh in their space in order to make it more their own.
LaJoy’s Coffee Cafe Owner LaJoy Dabney.
The location at WashU has been a positive experience for Coffeestamp, exposing students and staff to a local restaurant they may not have known about otherwise. Coffeestamp has also been a benefit to the campus by elevating the overall feel of the space into something more than a generic coffee shop would provide. Watling notes that the dual payoff is by design, and the university works hard to ensure that campus offerings exceed expectations.
Coffeestamp inside Hillman Hall.
“I don’t ever want anything we do on campus to feel like it’s just ‘good for college food;’ I just want it to be good food, period,” he says. That includes how these spaces feel; the interaction between restaurant staff and students; and how the food is plated and presented. There are echoes of Matt Sebek and Gerard Craft’s approach to CITYPARK’s multi-restaurant setup; the campus serves around 15,000 meals per day. “What we’re doing with local restaurants is not the easiest way for us to serve,” he notes. “It’s not the cheapest way, necessarily. But I think it’s the best way to serve and give students something they’ll remember. Food for college students is such a big part of their experience. It’s a big piece of what makes this become their home.”
The new restaurants will be in the process of soft opening as incoming freshmen make their way onto the campus in the middle of August, with grand openings set for early fall as the restaurants get comfortable in their spaces. The restaurants are one part of the overall “Here and Next” initiative, a globally-informed, community-driven plan for the future of WashU.
Homemade cookies from Collins Farm.
It also serves as an invitation for students new to St. Louis to get out and explore the dining scene in the area. The Fattened Caf’s original location is inside Earthbound Beer on Cherokee Street; Corner 17 is a popular Delmar Loop destination, and the family also owns Lulu’s Local Eatery on South Grand Boulevard. Watling hopes that this encourages students to seek out dining options beyond the campus and find new favorites all over the area. In the same way, he hopes to see new faces on campus: St. Louisans are welcome to visit campus to grab a bite to eat as they go about their day. “What we’re doing here is not just a token local diversity program; we’re making meaningful and impactful decisions that can really help the community become something greater.”
Follow BEAST, Corner 17, Fattened Caf, Collins Farm and LaJoy’s Coffee Cafe on Instagram for more information about their campus locations and opening information.
Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, Missouri, 314-935-5000, wustl.edu
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Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.
LaJoy’s Coffee Cafe Owner LaJoy Dabney.
BEAST Barbecue.
The Fattened Caf owners Darren Young and Charlene Lopez Young.
Bubble tea from Corner 17.
Homemade cookies from Collins Farm.
Washington University in St. Louis.
Coffeestamp inside Hillman Hall.