News Casselman And Cafe Renovation Get Rave Reviews - Garrett College
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Campus News

October 8th, 2024

Casselman and café renovation get rave reviews

New College space, local vendor's emphasis on healthy options lauded

Eugenia Rosa

Garrett College student Eugenia Rosa, right, is served by Rebekah Geasey last Thursday at the Casselman Café at Garrett College.


cafe

Garrett College students Antonio Adams, left, and Marqui Olds take a break in the Casselman Café at Garrett College. The College's kitchen and café underwent a complete renovation over the summer.

The staff at Casselman's new café location at Garrett College hit the ground running – largely because they had no other choice.

"The Health Department gave the go-ahead on a Thursday afternoon and we started serving food on a Monday," said Casselman Market General Manager Aaron Lapp, recalling the Labor Day opening necessary to support the start of the fall semester.

"It was only possible because of our great staff," added Lapp. "The College staff was also very helpful in making that happen."

Casselman's launch certainly met with the approval of Garrett College students.

"The food selection is really good and the people who work there are really nice," said sophomore Courtney Milner, who also praised the $2.5 million renovation of the College's kitchen and café.

"It seems a lot more spacious," she said. "A lot of students go there and it [the renovation] created a much nicer space."

Another sophomore, Musulyn Pinney, is also excited about the renovation of the 42-year-old facility and the Casselman launch.

"When I heard the café was being renovated, I couldn't have been happier," said Pinney. "Compared to last year, the renovated café is welcoming and cozy."

Pinney said the café menu "is filled with healthy food choices," noting the new salad bar "is particularly my favorite."

"The food is good – but the staff is even better," added Pinney.

"We really felt having fresh and simple food needed to be an option for the café," said Lapp, noting that is a philosophy in all of the Casselman sites.

The café and kitchen renovation was completed under a challenging time frame, according to GC Director of Campus Facilities Chris Painter.

"We knew we had only from mid-May to late August to completely renovate that space," said Painter. "Our contractor [Daikin Applied] and their subcontractors started demolition the morning after the spring semester ended and had the building ready for operation two days before fall classes started."

Lapp said Casselman was "originally planning on a minimum of two weeks to set things up and get things in order," but launched with about 72 hours prep time.

"I honestly don't even know how it was possible," said Lapp.

"It was definitely a team effort," said GC Dean of Business & Finance Dallas Ouellette, who is the College liaison to Casselman Café. "Facilities, our custodial staff, our contractor, and Casselman's staff really worked together so that we were ready to serve students when they arrived."

Dr. Richard Midcap, Garrett College's president, noted that the bulk of the renovation project's funding came from Garrett County Government and Garrett College fund balance via a Board of Trustees authorization.

"This renovation would never have happened without the support of the Commissioners and our Trustees' commitment to this project," said Midcap. "This was a project that really uplifts our students' experience – I think that's why everyone who has been involved has been focused on making this work. It was a stressful project that produce a great result."