New Clermont Cougar Café Provides Long Overdue Fuel for Students
Morgan Gelter
For many students, faculty, and staff, there is a new, alluring aroma as they walk down the steps of the Edith Peter-Jones building. The bottom floor of UC Clermont is now filled with the appetizing smell of freshly grilled cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches.
These are just a few of the items on the menu at the new Clermont Cougar Café – a place where students can finally hang out and enjoy a fresh meal. Everyone now has a place where the food is cooked right in front of you instead of the ho-hum option of chips and candy from a vending machine.
Since coming back to campus in January of 2022, students have been pleased with the new addition. “I like how the food is cooked right in front of me. It’s nice to know what is in my food. It’s nothing like cafeteria food,” claims freshman, Amaya Kennedy.
Students, like Kennedy, enjoy the convenience of the Cougar Café – which now exists to satisfy the appetite of the hard-working student and replace other monotonous options like a sack lunch. Whether you’re on the go and need a quick bite, or need a place to unwind and relax, this café is the place to go. “The café is very convenient. It’s right there when I need it and I don’t have to worry about rushing around in the morning to pack my lunch,” states Chelsie Garner, a freshman.
The Cougar Café serves a wide variety of food options including chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers, chili, soups, and more. Not a fan of animal-product foods? Vegan sandwiches are also served. Enjoy eating breakfast more than lunch? The new café provides all day breakfast sandwiches for those early – and not so early – risers. Need a boost throughout the day? Fresh coffee is brewed in a jiffy.
In addition to whipping up delicious food and satisfying a campus-load of hunger, Chip Coil, the Café’s sole employee, looks forward to greeting new faces every day. “Meeting all the students, staff, and maintenance guys that walk through that door is what I enjoy most about my shift each day,” states Coil. “When you’ve been in the restaurant business for years, you get to meet many people.” Without a doubt, the café is one of the many new features on Clermont’s campus that possess similarities to the main campus. The numerous food cafeterias on the main campus served as a model for the reconstruction of Clermont’s café.
Unique to the new café, Clermont students and staff are the ones choosing the menu items. When asked if students and staff should expect expansion, Coil explained, “The café is evolving to what people are asking for. The students and faculty are molding the menu.” Someday, improvements like a salad bar and pizza oven could be on the horizon.
Open Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 2:30pm, the café will be sure to satisfy your appetite – whatever your food preference is. Be sure to stop by!
1 Comment
There has been a lot of excitement about the café opening., and being an option here at UC Clermont. The breakfast foods are tasty and decently priced. However, I have heard several complaints about the café closing at 2:30pm when many classes run much later and that the burgers are extremely overpriced. These may be things to take into consideration when thinking of expanding or improvements.