UCSD’s Newest Café Hopes to Become a Second Home

Roxana Popescu | December 14, 2009

Big windows and tall ceilings make the cafe a bright destination for an afternoon study session -- or, for that matter, break!

In the three months since the The Village Place and Market has opened, Ashley Abba, a junior, has perfected the grab n’ go: Step 1, position fingers around ice cream, soda, coffee or other late night fuel. Step 2, remove item from shelf and pay, typically with meal points. Step 3, go — to apartment, either alone or with friends, and start noshing.

The Village cafe, located in the new transfer student housing complex called The Village at Torrey Pines, West, has fast become a hub on the northwestern side of campus. About half of the space is a café, with tables tucked behind the espresso bar, and half is a market. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. and serves a mix of munchables, fresh produce, supplies and coffee drinks.

“It's just so convenient. I literally walk past this on my way to my apartment,” said Abba, who lives in new The Village dorms.

Abba’s classmate and fellow Villager Raquel Peshkepia concurs the combination is uberconvenient. She stops in at least once per day, often for bianca mochas or snacks.

“I just pick up food and go,” Peshkepia said.

But last Tuesday, the students stayed. In fact, they sat for a while, eating lunch at a small round table and talking about the upcoming final in their performing religion class. And that is exactly what UCSD’s Housing and Dining Services was hoping they’d do. Sit, study, relax, and let the minutes turn into hours.

“We want to make it sticky,” said Nancy Filtz, the retail manager for Housing and Dining Services.

The market offers fresh organic produce, as well as a mix of snacks and cooking ingredients.

Since the doors opened in September, the café and market have filled an evident gap, employees and students say. The hours make The Village popular with students, and its location next to the Rady School of Management and the northern athletic facilities makes it appealing to staff and faculty, said Michael McGuire, the lead food service worker there.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and simplistic lines in the furnishings give the space a pert vibe, suggesting an art museum or atrium, rather than a student hangout

Now, Filtz and other Housing and Dining Services decision-makers are looking for ways of turning The Village into a destination rather than a thoroughfare. Her inspiration: Earl's Place and Market, in central campus, which is decidedly cozy.

“If that means changing the tables into couches, then we want to do that,” Filtz said. “We want to be really student-friendly. It’s all about being responsive.”

The scene on a weekday afternoon during finals suggests students are, in turn, responding: about half a dozen had lined up to buy Ritz crackers, fruit and coffee, while others were scattered around the café section, studying together or reading solo.

Paul Sidhu, also a junior, lives off campus but came to the café to study for a calculus exam with a friend.

“I come to The Village two or three times a week. When I do, I come here either for coffee or Red Bulls. It's just soooo convenient,” he said, drawing out the “so” like an extra long shot of espresso.