October 2009
What's Old is New: Cura Hospitality New Cafe at St. Clair Hospital
What’s old is new again: Value is also a huge component of the new Café 4 at 329-bed St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh. Chris Vitsas, general manager for Cura Hospitality at the account, says keeping prices down was very important because the café was replacing a diner/snack shop that was known for its cheap meals.
“We had the old diner style in the past so [Café 4] is definitely modernized and updated,” Vitsas says. “We have received a lot of great compliments from our external customers. Every weekend, the old snack shop was full of people from the community that just came for breakfast, and we still get a lot of those customers. The bottom line is we have a soup and half sandwich combo for $3.69. Where can you get that anywhere? Our pricing itself is what drives a lot of our sales.”
Café 4 is right off the main entry of the hospital and Vitsas says it was designed to be place where hospital visitors could relax or get some work done while waiting for friends or family.
“The thought was this could be a place where someone could say, ‘I have to come take my mother for a test so I can drop her off and grab a cup of coffee,’” Vitsas says. “We have a soft seating area with a Wi-Fi connection available, so they can get some work done.”
The new café, which seats 32 and has an outside patio, features made-to-order options.
“The concept is everything fresh and made to order in front of you,” Vitsas says. “If you go to the ‘Salad by Design’ area we have 27 salad toppings. You tell us what greens you want, whether its iceberg, mixed greens or romaine. Then from that point, you pick your own toppings and dressing and we put everything together for you. We also have a few pre-designed salads you can choose from. Then we have our fresh, housemade stock soups that rotate every day. We also have a deli sandwich area that features a few predesigned sandwiches such as a classic New York corn beef sandwich or a hot Italian panini. Or you can create your own sandwich from our fresh-baked bread, five different meat choices, cheese, condiments and choose whether you want it served hot or cold. It’s a really nice area, and for people like me who might be a little picky, you can make my your own soup and salad or soup and half sandwich combos. We also serve pastries and breakfast sandwiches in the morning.
