Dear UVa Dining,

Arts Grounds is a lesser known but highly populated section of UVA, housing the School of Architecture, Drama Department, Band Building, Studio Art and Art History Departments. Segregated due to location far away from the rest of grounds, the only on grounds dining option in this area is the Fine Arts Café. Speaking from experience as Architecture Majors, the students of Arts Grounds are extremely dedicated and hardworking, and due to their specialized fields, need specific places to work (i.e. studio for Art/Architecture Students or rehearsal spaces for Drama Students). Typical for most Architecture students, among others, is to have classes back to back in the Arts Grounds area with no time in between to leave the area to make a trip to Central Grounds or the Corner for meals. Due to this time restraint, it becomes a necessity to eat at the Fine Arts Cafe.

While people from the college occasionally venture over to the Fine Arts Cafe because of its unique, high quality food options and friendly staff, the majority of the Fine Arts Cafe clientele are the dedicated faculty and students of Arts Grounds, either meeting there to discuss a group project or attempting to eat a quick lunch before their next studio deadline.

Fine Arts Cafe is very similar to McLeod Cafe in the nursing school, as it is a smaller on-grounds dining establishment that caters to a physically isolated area of the University. However, a major difference between the two is that McLeod has an option for Meal Exchange while Fine Arts Cafe does not.

Food is one of the most expensive expenditures in college, as it is easy for costs of grocery store runs and restaurant visits to add up for upperclassmen. First years are required to have unlimited swipes with a limited amount of plus dollars while upperclassmen who choose to purchase a meal plan tend to favor plus dollars yet are required to get meal swipes along with them. While Fine Arts has a plethora of food options, all possible food selections are some of the most expensive anywhere on grounds or even on the Corner, with small portions that do not match the amount one is paying for their meal. Ask any student at UVA and they will explain how quickly they spend their plus dollars while their meal swipes remain underused. With this in mind, and knowing the amount of meals Arts Students eat at Fine Arts Cafe out of necessity (be it because they have a short break between classes, have a deadline to meet or a group to meet with outside of studio) each week, it is not financially sustainable for a student of any year to continuously eat at Fine Arts Cafe by just spending plus dollars. To be frank, it is a burden to have to worry about using so many plus dollars at a single establishment for the sole reason of having no viable alternative. Eating at the Fine Arts Cafe even three times a week can cost upwards of $30. That supports only ten weeks worth of plus dollars, not factoring in plus dollar usage elsewhere on grounds. With all of these factors in mind, Fine Arts Cafe needs to follow the precedent of other dining establishments at UVA, with McLeod Cafe being the most applicable comparison, and have a meal swipe option available for at least few items on the menu.

Also, due to the long classes that tend to let out around 6 pm, after the Fine Arts Cafe has closed, extended evening hours would be a great benefit to those just getting out of studio, those coming to the Drama Building for evening rehearsal and for the large amount of students in the Cavalier Marching Band who flood to the area toward the end of the day. The influx of hungry customers would, in the long run, make more money for the Cafe than it would cost it for employees to work longer hours.

In summary, the Fine Arts Cafe is a very popular dining establishment, both due to its quality food and service and the isolated location which makes it the only option for many students. However, many students have to eat there out of necessity and the fact that it is not a financially viable option for many students on a budget is a shame. By

1). Adding a meal exchange option
2). Extending hours of operation

the Fine Arts Cafe would be able to better serve the students and faculty that already spend so much time inside and outside of the classroom on Arts Grounds, helping students make the most out of their meal plans and remain happy customers.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Joshua Gritz at jag6ve@virginia.edu and Kimberly O’Keeffe at ko5ey@virginia.edu.

Sincerely,

UVa Architecture Student Council