BNL Cafe Update
By Peter Steinberg, BNL
Excerpt from PhD comics
If one spends a lot of time at CERN, it starts to become clear that most of the interesting business at the lab, from physics discussions to social planning, happens at the CERN Cafeteria. This is clearly, um, illustrated in the panel above from PhD comics. The fact that the CERN Cafeteria is centrally located, and provides good food and drink at all hours, had always been a source of jealously for many of us who spend most of our times at BNL. Of course, by now there is no reason to be jealous, as Brookhaven now has its own place to get coffee, discuss things with friends and colleagues, and get a bit of work done between other obligations: the BNL Cafe in the Research Support Building (400).
The BNL Cafe opened in January 2008, managed and staffed by Nayyarsons, who already run the food services at BNL. Right away, it substantially improved the social atmosphere of Brookhaven for visiting guests, regular visitors, and longtime employees alike. At most times of the work day, the tables are full of people — from all departments, both scientific and support staff, and many visitors — enjoying the daylight as well as their favorite caffeinated beverage. Many locals and visitors have commented about this, saying how much the Cafe improves the overall quality of life at the lab, and makes them feel much more welcome here. It also serves great coffee.
The only downside is that the continued existence of the Cafe is not guaranteed without support from the BNL community. It was created due to the outpouring of interest from the BNL users, both staff and visitors, many of whom answered an online survey in late 2006 that helped establish the basic service and opening hours. However, it turns out that despite this widespread support, it still requires substantial subsidies from the BNL director's office. Even after a reduction in hours (dropping the unprofitable 5-7 pm slot) and a recent 10% price increases to the coffee drinks (bringing prices into line with the prices at nearby Starbucks), the cafe is still running at a deficit. That said, the recent trends are looking good, with March revenues higher than expected by a longer month.
Still, every bit of business helps: if every regular visitor to the cafe bough one more cup of coffee per month, it would be noticed. Also, if you want the cafe to remain open early in the mornings or in the late afternoons, please make a special effort to show up during those times: it will help a lot to keep those times staffed.
Choosing to support the cafe is a bit like supporting public
radio or television, when you ask yourself about what you'd be
missing if the Cafe were to reduce its hours dramatically, or
disappear altogether. Staff Services also welcomes creative
ideas about how to use the cafe space, from hosting small
meetings with colleagues in the main atrium, to occasional
larger meetings in the nearby conference rooms. Also, if you or
your colleagues feel that extended hours could be made to work,
feel free to work through your users groups to make your needs
known: although be prepared to put your money where your mouth
is — and buy more coffee!
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National
Laboratory is a world-class scientific research facility primarily
funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Hundreds
of physicists from around the world use RHIC to study what the
universe may have looked like in the first few moments after its
creation. What physicists learn from these collisions may help us
understand more about why the physical world works the way it does,
from the smallest subatomic particles, to the largest stars.