New Café Opens on SUNY-ESF campus

03/22/2013

The cafe on the campus of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) will celebrate its grand opening 9 a.m. March 26.

The Trailhead Cafe, located in the college's new Gateway Center, is a collaborative venture between ESF and Morrisville State College. The eatery will be operated by the Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation (MAC) through a new ESF Auxiliary Services division. MAC currently operates five food service locations on the SUNY Morrisville campus.

ESF President Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., and Dr. William J. Murabito, interim president of Morrisville, will speak at the event. Light refreshments will be served following the presidential remarks.

The Trailhead Cafe will be open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cafe anchors the large main concourse area of the Gateway Center and serves as a gathering place for all members of the ESF community.

The name Trailhead Cafe was chosen by students, faculty and staff via online voting earlier in the year. Artwork used in The Trailhead logo design was inspired by an illustration found in a 1929 Camp Log produced by the sophomore students who attended a mandatory ESF Summer Camp that year. The Summer Camp was designed to give students practical field experience, and the Camp Log contained stories about activities, research papers, jokes, photos, poetry and artwork. The illustration accompanied a poem called, "Trails," which was attributed only to "A.R.S." The poet might have been a student listed as assistant business manager in the Camp Log, Arthur R. Spillers.

The Trailhead Cafe supports New York state producers, growers and manufacturers by purchasing many products within the state. The creative cafe menu has daily specials and will be available from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Nature and simplicity are combined in the decor of the Trailhead Cafe to give it a warm inviting atmosphere while the kitchen is outfitted with equipment that meets LEED Platinum certification requirements. The cafe anchors the large main concourse area of the Gateway Center and serves as a comfortable gathering place for all members of the ESF community with the capacity to seat 140 guests.