As another day at Cairn University come to an end, I snuck a peek into the new and improved Highlands Café, and, I have to admit, my heart tingled with excitement as I saw one of the workers laying tile on the wall of the kitchen area. The new tables, chairs, sofas, and kitchen are almost done being set up, though everything is still being covered by plastic. It is long overdue, but the new version of the Highlands café is ready to open this Thursday!

Hurrah! Better late than never, right?

The university decided to make a place that had food accessible on the other side of campus, convenient if you don’t want to walk all the way to the MAC for food. Workers have been tirelessly working on this café since the beginning of the year. Everyone has seen the obvious improvements, sneak peeks of what is going to be a finished space soon. It was announced that the opening was delayed so much because permits still had to come through; however, no more waiting on those. The time is almost here to dine in the new café. With ready-to-go sandwiches and drinks, it should definitely be a go-to for students in a rush, a.k.a. most of the student body, if we are being honest.

Though many students look to the new café with apprehension and doubt, the new café will benefit the student body, overall. “It’s going to be bigger and better than the last café,” says Daniella, who works in the old café making drinks. “There are going to be more drinks, more sandwiches, and honestly, it does not compare to what the university had before.” So, we can say with assurance that it was worth the wait. The drinks will not be available with swipes from our student IDs, however, you can still have a meal exchange. It’s a business; the café has to be making some money somehow. After all, there are many student workers and staff that need to be paid.

“It’s almost done, we hope to be opening next week at some point to all the student body.” said Scott Delair, head of food services here at Cairn. “We are going to be training personnel Monday and Tuesday for next semester’s’ workers. All the equipment is brand new too.” Every single thing going into this has been well thought out and all the plans Cairn has made are ready to come to life.

Meal exchanges are going to be limited this semester, meaning, you won’t be able to use a swipe to get a drink. Afterall, a drink isn’t a meal, right? “All drinks for cash only. It’s going to be opened Monday through Friday. There are going to be breakfast sandwiches available, fruits, club sandwiches, fruit cups, brownies, Danishes, bagels, cookies, pound cake, scones, tea, energy drinks, and all Starbucks drinks.” I am getting hungry just having this conversation. There are going to be so many things available that if I listed them all, this article would be quite long. Our marketing team is creating mugs and reusable cups with the highlander logo, which the students can purchase, so you are going to want to pay attention to any announcements surrounding the café!

Even though students have been waiting anxiously for the grand opening of the Highlands, “It’s going to be more of a soft opening. It makes no sense to make a grand opening when it’s the end of the semester,” Scott continued saying.  But rest assured, there are going to be many great things waiting for us here when we get back from Christmas break!

All the waiting will be worth it, I assure you. Count it as a Christmas miracle.