Every weekday, the Food Co-op hosts students at its big, round tables painted with flowers. Whether there to study, eat or socialize, students stop by the vegan, gluten-free cafe for its laid-back vibes and well-priced food.
Though the space is normally only open during the day, on Friday night, the cafe stayed open late to host its open-mic night. From 7 to 9 p.m., students flocked to the co-op in the basement of Old University Union to perform or just watch and eat the food prepared by the student staff for the event.
Jessica Vecchiariello, the general manager of the Food Co-op and a senior majoring in Spanish, shared that one goal of the event was to encourage new people to visit the co-op.
“The open mic is really an event we’re putting on in order to draw more people in, to just have a community event for everyone to be a part of,” Vecchiariello said.
There were a variety of acts at the event including singer-songwriters, bands, poets, hula-hoopers and a beatboxer. The atmosphere in the crowd was friendly and welcoming, and was filled with the hum of conversations among attendees between acts. The rainbow tie-dye backdrop that normally graces the walls of the Co-op served as a background for the acts, and chalk drawings on the walls also contributed to the warm experience.
The night started off with a couple of singer-songwriters, including Jacob Levine, a sophomore majoring in English.
Levine shared that he is a regular performer at open-mic nights and loves to perform.
“My songs mean a lot to me, and I try really hard,” Levine said. “So, might as well try really hard in front of people.”
Partway through the night, the acts were put on pause for around an hour for everyone to have time to serve themselves dinner.
The menu featured a series of Asian fusion-inspired tapas, including scallion pancakes and sticky sesame cauliflower, plus spiced sugar cookies and almond cake for dessert. Everything on the menu was served and priced by weight, and was vegan, gluten-free and organic.
Brianna Simpkins, a sophomore majoring in political science, paid high praise to the fried rice.
“I literally cannot complain about a single thing, everything tastes really good,” she said.
The Food Co-op relies on its student volunteers to prepare and serve the food daily, and Vecchiariello said that the hands-on preparation of the Food Co-op’s daily menu is part of its success.
“The Food Co-op primarily is a student-run cafe and grocery store, so on a daily basis we are cooking and serving food to students in the most healthy and sustainable way possible that we know how,” she said.
Many people, including Simpkins, aren’t regulars at the Food Co-op, which is why Vecchiariello loves to hold open events.
“We did have one similar event last semester: We had a harvest-festival dinner where we had a band perform and we served food,” Vecchiariello said. “The turnout right now is definitely a lot more than last time.”