Goodbye, Sun cafeteria as we know it
Along with the other losses of friends and colleagues in the next couple of weeks, which I'm trying not to burden you with, we're losing the current food service, Sodexo, at The Sun cafeteria. Today is its last day. This wouldn't have bothered me so much a few years ago, when I was always going out to lunch. But since Dining@Large started, I'm so much busier I find it cheaper and easier to eat downstairs most days. Quality of food has almost nothing to do with it.
A new food service will be in place Monday, but I consider this to be The Sun cafeteria, and it's like losing an old friend. An old friend you wouldn't want to introduce to your newer, hipper friends; but you are secretly fond of. ...
Yes, I know I would have a better lunch if I brownbagged it, but some mornings it's just too much trouble. I do bring local tomatoes, red pepper and carrots to put on my salads; but the lettuce mix is pretty good. Like all regulars, I know which things are edible and which things to avoid (the steam table entrees).
There's a picture of James hanging on the cash register that won't be there Monday. He was the guy behind the counter who died recently of lung cancer but had to quit working some time ago.
We had a long talk about his illness once when he was making me a Swiss cheese on rye, which sounds gruesome (the talk, not the sandwich) but wasn't.
The new guy -- we were just getting to know him -- is really likable if maybe a bit upbeat to be around Sun reporters, who by their nature are a morose bunch, but he's just a temp. He'd love to continue working here, he told me, but hasn't heard that the new service is keeping him.
And then there's Liz, who runs the whole show and is a goddess. They'll all be gone on Monday.
(Photos of the cafeteria and Liz by me)
Comments
I've always had great experiences with Sodexho. Their employees are terrific.
Posted by: bryanintimonium | July 25, 2008 8:59 AM
Notable: The man in the blue shirt at the salad bar is Tim Franklin, editor in chief.
Elizabeth, I too have fond memories of the cafeteria. One time a put a piece of focaccia bread on the conveyor-belt toaster and it caught fire! Thankfully no one was seriously burned, and, I still ate the sandwich.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | July 25, 2008 9:37 AM
Thanks EL for shining a light on the human beings affected by the changes going on there at the Sun. (Does the food service company change have any relation to the buyouts/layoffs?)
This must be a really rough time for a lot of people there right now, and I imagine there are many stories to tell about the people who are going to be missed, though I don't imagine the Sun will be publishing any of them. The only story I saw had numbers, but no names, or thank yous or any human element.
Not directly, but I'm sure it's a cost-saving measure. EL
Posted by: LJ | July 25, 2008 11:52 AM
If the Sun is looking for cost savings, why don't they get rid of b.
Oh, I'm sure the readers of b will get all upset. No doubt, they'll grunt and groan to their friends. Maybe they'll even start a letter writing campaign, assuming they can find their crayons. However, in time, they will find other things to occupy themselves, such as a piece of tin foil or a big red ball.
Posted by: Robert of Cross Keys | July 25, 2008 1:55 PM
Are they replacing the caf with a soylent green dispenser?
Posted by: Lissa | July 25, 2008 3:32 PM
Lissa wrote: "Are they replacing the caf with a soylent green dispenser?"
So that's where all the recently unemployed Sun employees have been sent.
Posted by: Retired in Elkridge | July 25, 2008 5:05 PM
Well, it's certainly is brighter and cheerier than the Sun cafeteria I knew from 1966-82. My favorite cafeteria person was Miss Virginia, who could make a mean cheesesteak sub. Some years after leaving The Sun I visited friends in advertising, and she was at the front desk greeting visitors. We remembered each other and had a nice chat, and I read that she passed some years ago. I'm sure everyone I knew is LONG gone.
Posted by: Dottie | July 25, 2008 6:27 PM
Retired in Elkridge, I was trying to not say that. But I sure was thinking it...
"Would you like some ketchup with your job retraining?"
Posted by: Lissa | July 25, 2008 9:58 PM