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BY ROSARIO PAZ

In print | November 29, 2007

In hopes of providing an alternative space in the Ville for students, whether for study time or study break time, Da Vinci’s owner Chris Bruno has enlisted the help of a few student employees in the interior redecoration of his cafe. Renovations are expected to be completed by the beginning of spring semester.

“Right now there really isn’t a place off campus for students to hang out,” Chris Bruno, owner of Da Vinci’s Cafe, said. “It’s just time for a change. We’re redoing it now just to come up with a fresh perspective … to keep it fresh and exciting. Right now, we’re like half coffee shop, half eatery … We’re going to make it more user-friendly in a coffee-like atmosphere.”

According to Sarah Noble ‘10, a student employee at Da Vinci’s, the redecoration plans are striving towards creating “a place where people can come in and study, hang out and listen to music. We want it to be comfortable.”

Recently, Noble and fellow co-workers Stephanie Hsu ‘08, Elizabeth Crow ’09 and Sasha Grenier ’08 have been meeting to coordinate and brainstorm ideas for redecorating Da Vinci’s, including coming up with a budget needed for the changes to take place. The budget has been approved by Bruno.

Renovation plans consist of repainting the cafe, bringing in new furniture, including new table tops and more comfortable seating, curtains, a bookshelf to store used books and board games, new throw rugs, lamps and even updating the menu with pastries and baked goods that, according to Bruno, will make the cafe more “bakery-driven.”

“We’re also going to try to bring in some organic and whole foods to try to appeal to people looking for those types of foods,” Bruno said.

According to Bruno, it is difficult to compete with the meal plan that students use on campus, as it does not currently allow for students to use points at the cafe. Nevertheless, there are various amenities in place, including student discounts and free internet access. “There [are] not good high-end baked goods on campus,” Bruno said, pointing out an additional potential draw.

In addition to the aesthetically oriented renovations, there are plans to construct a more organized and discrete bulletin board. “We were playing with the idea of having a giant bulletin place … Right now, the windows are being used, but we would like a space inside on the wall instead of a window and maybe have more opportunities to display student artwork,” Hsu said.

According to Hsu, Ikea, nearby thrift stores, and Freecycle, a Web site that brings together local communities that are interested in reusing items to keep garbage out of landfills, are all resources that will be utilized in the redecoration process.

Though both Hsu and Noble admit that it is difficult to keep on top of the renovation project while simultaneously keeping up with their academics, they recognize the importance of helping to create a more relaxed environment for students and a haven away from campus.

“I think it’s kind of a twofold commitment on the part of us girls who are working on this project, both to help business … and also because we see the potential in that space as a great student space … It’s a way to get off campus and it can be really enjoyable. It’s just a really nice space,” Hsu said.

“I grew up just always being around a coffee shop in Oklahoma and it’s something that is so different. A coffee shop atmosphere is different from the Kohlberg coffee bar that is academic … The idea is for [Da Vinci’s Cafe] to [have] a relaxed atmosphere, where you can get together with friends, listen to music, poetry … the atmosphere is what I think is really important. You don’t get that at Kohlberg coffee bar,” Noble said.

“I think it’s an excellent idea, since Da Vinci’s can be a little bit dim and seem somewhat too large and a little oddly furnished, so more comfortable lighting and seating is a good idea. This, along with their new weekend evening hours, should bring in more Swatties than they’ve had before now,” Adam Koontz ‘08, a frequenter of Da Vinci’s, said in an e-mail.

Additional changes that Da Vinci’s has been implementing include new late night hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., in addition to the regular hours during the day. Only recently, Da Vinci’s has also been advocating longer hours during reading periods before finals. Though students have increasingly become aware and, as a result, taken advantage of these extended hours, Bruno said he “would like to see more [students] come in.”

“We’re going to be starting to do some things in the next week or so,” he said. “It’s going to be an ongoing project … Most of it’s probably going to be done by this semester and it will definitely be done by the time we get back for spring semester.”

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