A Place to Eat and Stay a While
Newest dining hall offers Williams Village a lot more than food.
Use a stationary bike to blend your own smoothie. Feast on local meat. Eat breakfast for dinner every day.
It鈥檚 all possible at the Village Center Dining and Community Commons at Williams Village, a 109,000-square-foot facility that replaced the now-demolished Darley Commons. The space, which opened in January and is open to the public, has cozy furniture, ample natural light, magnificent Flatiron views and more.
The Grotto Cafe, open until 2 a.m., offers quick bites and easy socializing. There鈥檚 an on-site tutoring center and a health clinic to serve Williams Village鈥檚 roughly 2,800 residents, an outdoor fire pit and late-night study areas. There are plans for a convenience store, UPS store and start-up space for entrepreneurs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e advertising this place as one where you can hang out for two to three hours and come and go at your leisure,鈥 said Jon Keiser, project manager of the $48.9-million facility.
Beginning next fall, the dining hall鈥檚 salad bar will feature lettuce grown on one of 156 eight-foot towers in a gigantic on-site greenhouse.
A 5,000-square-foot area for conferences, large events and breakout meetings occupies the ground floor, along with a full catering kitchen. Upstairs, a teaching and demonstration kitchen will host cooking classes. Said Keiser: 鈥淲e want this to be a lively and active building.鈥
Photos by Glenn Asakawa