Come for dinner- have a fruit smoothie- rock on.
Monday September 30, 2013 6:00-7:00pm Red & Black Café 45 Broad StAuthor Archives: weswingsguy
Music Monday at Red & Black Returns
The 8th year of the acoustic series “Music Monday” starts this upcoming Monday-September16th. We are proud to feature Dan Light ’14 from 6pm this week. Dan will perform a mix of his sophisticated originals and some choice covers- he sings real good and you should come listen. This series has featured fab Connecticut locals like The Grimm Generation, Frank Critelli, The Sawtelles, Christopher Bousquet, and Arlene Wow!b as well as all the musicians from Wesleyan that we can corral- such as Adrien DeFontaine Alma Eppchez, Bottle Up & Go, Andrew Pheiffer, Alek Barkats, The Appledaughters, Ben Seratin, Rachel J Rosengard‘s multiple acts, and.. of course, MGMT ( in their first acoustic gig!).
So why miss the opportunity to catch a set by a person likely to be on your radio any day now?
Come for a lovely Panino, a bowl of succulent soup or a frosty fruit smoothie and be entertained for FREE.
and ring up Robbie for a show of your own!!!!!
Join our Mug Club Now Only 18 Points!
What is it?
Purchase a reusable mug from either WesWings or Red & Black Café for free refills of soda and iced coffee every time you visit.
Can I use it at other campus locations?
Only WesWings and Red & Black Cafe.
How much is it?
38 points Now just 29 18 points if you purchase this semester! In January it goes up to 20 points.
How long does it last?
The mug is good until the end of the spring semester May 2014.
What drinks can I get?
Fountain soda and iced coffee. Bottled drinks, hot coffee, iced tea, chai and espresso drinks are not included.
Do I have to purchase a drink every time to get a refill?
No, there is only a one time fee of 38 points. After that, simply come to the counter and ask for your drink.
How many times can I refill during a visit?
To avoid people abusing the system and sharing with friends we technically limit to one refill per visit. We usually are pretty flexible on this.
Do I have to purchase anything else to get a free refill?
No.
What do I do if I lose my mug?
Don’t. You should write you name on it to help if it is lost. Like cash, you’re basically S.O.L if you do.
How long are the mugs being sold?
We have a limited number of mugs. Once they are sold, that’s it.
Red & Black Cafe is OPEN!!!!!!!
The Red & Black Cafe is open for the semester.
Stop by for a latte from our new espresso machine or join this year’s Mug Club. Get your year’s supply of soda and iced coffee for only 38 points
Cafe Soft Opening Today
We will be open 9am-5pm through Sunday Sept 1. Regular hours begin Monday
JJJ
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Wesleyan Storytelling Project: WesWings Guy Edition
This week, listen to Mia Lobel ’97 in conversation with Ed Thorndike, Class of 1989. Ed Thorndike is one of Wesleyan’s well-known entrepreneurs–if you’ve ever been to Wes Wings or Red & Black Cafe, you’d know why. An English major at school, and a restauranteur by profession, Ed is not only the 4th generation in his family to attend Wesleyan, but he’s also the 4th Edward Thorndike to do so.
For the past 22 years, Wes Wings and Red & Black have comprised the core of a modern-day Wesleyan experience, and Wesleyan students continue to enjoy Ed’s close relationship with Wesleyan. Tune in for five minutes and listen to Ed discuss the most common Wes Wings misconceptions and how he got into this business in the first place.
Deal’s Off -You’re Stuck with Us
The deal to sell WesWings has fallen through. Apparently, the vegan buyers feel they can feed more Wesleyan students in Brooklyn. Plus it turns out that it costs a lot more than we thought to retire early even with the life expectancy for someone who’s been eating at WesWings for over 20 years.
We do appreciate all the well wishes we received today. (really? soybean cookie dough didn’t give it away) We can now look forward to many years in the basement of 156 High St., frying wings and livin’ the dream.
Karen & Ed
Why We’re Selling WesWings
By now most have you have heard the rumor that WesWings was being sold. It’s hard to keep a secret in the age of Facebook, twitter and Karen. It has not been an easy decision for us. For over 20 years, we have enjoyed meeting the thousands of students and frying their food. We both realized that it was time to move on. Working nights can be tiring and the winter break is too long.
The new owners have promised to keep the name and the decor, but as vegans, plan to make several changes to the menu. They tell us that their locally sourced soybean cookie dough is quite good. (so at least you can still get your cookie dough fix)
As for us, fortunately the money we’ve sold WesWings for combined with what we’ve charged for mozzarella sticks over the years, will allow us to retire quite comfortably.
We wish everyone the best.
-Karen & Ed
Thank You!
We’re not sure how everyone else feels, but at WesWings and the Red & Black Cafe, we’re getting a little tired of this whole extreme weather global climate change thing. We are very proud of our staff at WesWings and the fact that we remained open throughout the entire event.
It was more difficult for the cafe to keep open due to the fact that we share the space with Broad St Books and cannot operate if they are unable provide staff. (besides selling books is not that critical during a blizzard)
WesWings’ staff was incredible throughout. On Friday, most of our full-time and student staff reported for dinner. After dinner, our chef Bill Nardi, walked to the Middletown Inn (his weekend accommodations) in blizzard conditions as did many of our other employees. 
Dinner went down as the busiest as well with over 700 students fed during the three-hour period. That’s an average of one customer every fifteen seconds, for three hours MADE TO ORDER. The line stretched to the parking lot the entire night. While we may have made a few mistakes, everyone was patient and it was never anything so bad that a little cookie dough couldn’t fix.
By Sunday, Karen and Ed were both able to travel to Middletown to help. The numbers were similar to Saturday. Sunday brunch become the new number one, and dinner a close second to Saturday.
The line still stretched out the door.
The crowds inside were pretty intense as well.
While we owe so many of our employees a great deal of thanks, it was the Saturday crew that held it all together in our absence.
- Bill Nardi, Chef/Hold the place together chief
- Job Vasquez, sous chef/place falls apart without guy
- Rick Kmietek, cook/fastest sandwich maker ever!
- Michael Mitchell, cook/hardcore cook
- Ralph Morton, dishwasher/lifesaver
- Serena Berry, student worker/cashier extraordinaire
- Vivian Deng, student worker/coordinator powerhouse
- Emmie Finckel, student worker/marathon cashier
- Jackie Freed, student worker/brunch cashier queen
- Liza Goodstein, student worker/coordinator superstar
- George Gore, student worker/chicken parm master
- Elizabeth Litvitskiy, student worker/coordinating wonder
- Reid Meador, Student worker/coordinator stalwart
- Alex Papadogiannis, student worker/dominator of the fryolator
- Tong Satayopas, student worker/super helper
- Michaela Tolman, student worker/lost without her
Finally, members of the University deserve everyone’s gratitude. For us, specifically,
- Nate Peters, Associate Vice President for Finance
- Joyce Topshe, Associate Vice President for Facilities (personally shovelled out the Red & Black Cafe)
- Everyone at Stonehenge
- Tennessee and Rebecca, two Red & Black customers who help shovel the front steps so we could open the building
We hope we didn’t miss anyone and if we did, please send us a comment and we’ll update accordingly.
Karen & Ed