It's lunchtime at the Baldy open caf?(c), and Shirlene Schmitt, one of the caf?(c)'s cashiers, hustles back and forth between helping a customer and refilling food trays. She smiles at a student grabbing a Danish and coffee in between classes, unphased by the swarm of students and faculty members traveling past the popular food stand on their way to their next destination.
Schmitt has been at the caf?(c) for over 18 years, and her partner Pat Monaghan has been there for eight. Although Schmitt and Monaghan's jobs are to serve food and keep the caf?(c) stocked and running smoothly, they go above and beyond, reaching out to the students and faculty that come to the caf?(c).
A student can always count on their familiar faces as greeting. The pair has a way of making UB feel a bit smaller - more like home - whether helping a student with a seeing-eye dog or any other patron.
The caf?(c), located on the second floor of Baldy hall between the Law library and Lockwood, is surrounded by a variety of tables and chairs that span the entire length of the hallway. It has become a favorite spot, especially for commuter students, for meeting up with friends or studying while having a bite to eat.
The caf?(c) hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., but Monaghan, who is responsible for opening the caf?(c), starts her day at 6 a.m. She begins by brewing the coffee, laying out the breakfast food and taking inventory of needed supplies.
"Basically I take care of the customer, making sure everything they need is out and ready to go before they get to the caf?(c)," Monaghan said.
Schmitt is responsible for closing the caf?(c) - her day ends at 3 p.m. or later. Wiping the tables and cleaning up the food and caf?(c) areas are only some of her duties.
"My job is all about taking care of the customer. I enjoy dealing with people and I think it's important to make sure people are getting what they want on the way to class, without having to wait," Schmitt said.
The caf?(c) is always packed around 12:30 p.m., every table taken up by both students and faculty. When the Alfiero building was under construction, a handful of workers on break were regulars as well.
On occasion, people will even stand against the wall with books in one hand and a sandwich in the other, waiting for a table to open up.
"I come here about once a week. I've never even ate at any other place on campus, because the caf?(c) is close to all of my classes," said Karen Scott, a first year law student. "It's quick and easy."
Their uniforms, consisting of a matching blue hat and apron, only add to their appeal. Schmitt talks as she cleans out the coffee machine and looks around for anybody who might need her help.
"It's important to keep the caf?(c) open because tons of students and faculty rely on this place for a hot cup of coffee and something to eat, that's fresh, before they head off to class," said Schmitt.
The caf?(c) offers a variety of hot and cold meals prepared with the college student in mind. All of the food there is hot and fresh - soup, salad, sandwiches, sushi, soda, coffee, tea and many other varieties of foods can be found behind the small counter.
In the mornings they also offer a variety of breakfast foods, including everything from coffee and tea to breakfast sandwiches and hash browns. All of the food is brought in fresh from Putnums and Bert's.
"I used to go there my freshman year, because it was close to my classes," said Natalie Nason, a junior political science major. "There wasn't a wide selection of food, but the ladies were always really nice to me."
The caf?(c) has been around for over 25 years and is still going strong. Schmitt and Monaghan are an integral part of maintaining the caf?(c) for students and staff alike.
"I really enjoy dealing with people and I like having fun and kidding around," said Monaghan, before leaning over and cracking a joke to a customer getting soup. "This is a very light, fun atmosphere to work in. It allows me to both kid around and have fun while I work."
