Sunnyside: Luther’s best kept secret

Sunnyside Café, located in the CFA, is a small but convenient café for students who spend much of their time in the CFA, Jensen-Noble or Koren. Although the Union offers Oneota Market, Marty’s Cyber Café, the C-Store and the Cafeteria, Sunnyside Café’s location gives students the convenience of not having to make the walk all the way across campus to grab a bite to eat during busy class days.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, and sometimes longer for performances held in the CFA, Sunnyside Café offers students items such as fresh-baked bagels, sushi to go, freshly prepared soups and sandwiches, a full-service espresso bar, French roasted coffees and the famous cinnamon rolls the café is known for.

Other than great food, Sunnyside has a comfortable atmosphere reminiscent of home.

“I probably come to the café at least three times a week,” said Kelsey Dieterman (‘12). “The café is just so handy on this side of campus, and it has a homey atmosphere.”

Other customers appreciate the location of the café.

“About 30 to 40 people go to the café every shift, which is every two hours,” Meghan Mathison (‘10), who has worked at Sunnyside since her first year at Luther said.

Since working at Sunnyside Café as a first-year, Mathison experienced first-hand how Sodexo affected the café this year. Some of the changes Sodexo brought about were evident changes in food flavor and quality.

Sodexo introduced different frostings, smaller cookies and sandwiches that are made fresh and brought over from Oneota. In addition, the variety of food increased, with healthier varieties of snacks, such as gluten-free cookies.

“Initially, Sodexo tried to eliminate ‘Ida’s Truffels,’ which are locally made truffles, but we were able to get them back,” Mathison said. “Many customers were upset with these attempts to eliminate locally-popular vendors.”

As for Sodexo’s affect on Sunnyside Café’s popularity, not much has changed.

“There are no evident problems for the café as a business,” Mathison said. “The café is always busy after classes.”

Changes that have occurred with the addition of Sodexo include how work is conducted within the café. The changes in policies range from only being able to use four towels a day to now having to wear uniforms at work.

Some workers argue that wearing uniforms takes away from the diversity and freedom of expression that the café and CFA are admired for.

Overall, although experiencing many changes, Sunnyside Café still remains a favored hotspot for CFA visitors.

Venture over to the CFA and try the famous cinnamon rolls at Luther’s best kept secret, the Sunnyside Café.