Popular student restaurant to reopen Aug. 17
Kaitlynne-Rae Landry | Fulcrum Contributor
ON AUG. 17, Café Nostalgica will return with a bang: the student-run restaurant will host a patio party to kick things off and welcome back those who have awaited the construction of its new building.
Café Nostalgica was first established by the Graduate Students’ Association (GSAÉD) in 1995 but closed last spring to be rebuilt. The reopening, originally planned for January 2013.
After a year of anticipation, students will notice significant improvements: the café now boasts a doubled interior square footage and the layout has also been improved, allowing patrons to view live entertainment from anywhere in the room. A new sound system will only add to the restored space.
Café Nostalgica is also living up to its name by sticking to what was tried and true. According to general manager Kate Gauvreau, the more popular aspects of Nostalgica will not be changed.
“We’ll be doing the same programming we were doing before,” Gauvreau said. “Live music, arts, and stuff like that. So it’s pretty much the same Nostalgica coming back.”
The first open mic will take place Aug. 22.
Nostalgica will still serve its menu favourites along with a host of new items. The new kitchen will allow the café to keep up with its expanded capacity and menu. Infrastructure has also been put in place to support both meal plans and flex dollars—a valuable option for students, especially those living in residence.
Aside from an elevator technician strike and a looming potential strike by professors, the construction process has been smooth sailing, according to Gauvreau. The threat of a professors’ strike could make the wait a little longer, but Gauvreau is optimistic that the opening will go ahead as planned. The province-wide strike by elevator technicians already caused construction delays, but if everything goes according to plan, the elevator will be up and running well before the projected opening.
“I can’t wait for Nostalgica to be open again,” said Victoriah Haince, a fourth-year student at the University of Ottawa. “It’s my go-to place for great food on campus and I always do my best to hit up open mic night on Thursdays.”
“It’s a good thing they’re opening in August too,” she said, “because that means students will be able to get in a couple more patio days before school gets crazy and winter hits.”
The new building also means new facilities for the GSAÉD, whose services will move to the new building from its temporary location in Déjà-Vu.
