On Thursday, August 20, returning students, faculty, staff, and members of the community were invited to the College’s Standish campus for a free lunch in the newly renovated Pearson’s Café. With President Jim Dlugos standing by, Stuart Leckie, manager of Pearson’s Café, cut the ceremonial ribbon roping off the entrance to the redesigned servery, signifying that the café is once again open for business and will resume normal hours on Monday, August 24.

Mindful of the hungry crowd eagerly awaiting the chance to explore the fresh features and fill up their plates with that day’s lunch specials of baked haddock and chicken parmigiana, President Dlugos and Leckie kept their speeches short and sweet.

“This space—where we gather every day to share meals, to share fellowship, to talk about how the day’s going, what happened that morning, what’s happening that afternoon or that coming weekend—is an important part of the Saint Joseph’s College experience,” said President Dlugos. “It’s your space. We’re delighted with what was done over the summer in this space, and we hope that you enjoy it and use it well.”

Leckie was sure to thank his staff and the Facilities team for their diligent work right up until the ceremony. “I definitely had a few sleepless nights these last three or four days thinking about all that still needed to get done,” said Leckie. “Just this morning, we were hanging TVs and securing wires, but we did it!”

Changes include a reorganized layout for better flow in service, with a new centralized salad bar and a repositioned beverage station outside the main servery. The gluten-free station also got a makeover as an action station, which will now be serving up gluten-free pasta dishes and stir-fries prepared daily to order. Walls freshly painted with the SJC school colors are now lined with flat-screen TVs and mounted photos taken by staff and students to highlight the café’s connection to Pearson’s Town Farm. Leckie mentioned that bar seating for solo diners and team tables made to seat almost thirty people are still forthcoming.

For photos of the café’s new look, please visit the College’s Facebook page. To contact Stuart Leckie, call 207-893-6683, or email sleckie@sjcme.edu.