GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT:

Students used to a daily fix of brie and apple sandwiches, handmade marshmallows and skim milk mochas won't have to adjust their eating habits after all, as King Arthur Flour's Baker-Berry Library cafe will remain open, following negotiations with the College. [...]

The College has no oversight over the cafe's menu, so it can offer as many sandwich varieties as its managers deem appropriate, Tunnicliffe said. Offerings will remain essentially the same, he said. 

Both Tunnicliffe and Hogarty said that King Arthur Flour's greatest concern at the beginning of negotiations in June was the limited space in Baker-Berry library and how it compared to the cafe's volume of business. 

Calling King Arthur Flour's previous library operating space "incredibly small," Hogarty said the College has allotted them about 250 additional square feet, including expanded refrigeration space for milk and ice in the library's basement and a closet on the library's mezzanine where they can store dry goods and employees' personal items. The change involved no major renovations, and King Arthur Flour's rent has not increased. 

The additional storage also allows King Arthur Flour to make fewer deliveries to its Baker-Berry location -- two deliveries a day instead of three or four -- alleviating difficulties associated with traffic and parking, Tunnicliffe said. 

Fewer deliveries, he added, also allows King Arthur Flour to reduce its environmental footprint, which he said was a company priority. 

Tunnicliffe called the discussions a "learning experience" for both parties. 

During a visit to the company's Norwich location, Hogarty said she and executive vice president and chief financial officer Rick Mills sought to understand the King Arthur Flour's "pinch points" and plan for an evolving relationship with Dartmouth. 

One potential change would involve adding more seating to the cafe area, likely in time for the winter term, Hogarty said. 

Both King Arthur Flour and Dartmouth representatives were highly interested in keeping the cafe's library location open, Tunnicliffe said. 

"From an economic development perspective, the better all the businesses do, the better it is for the region," Hogarty said. "Certainly, selfishly, an operation like this is fantastic for the Dartmouth community." 

When the Baker-Berry cafe opened for the term on Monday morning, Tunnicliffe said, students lined up and faculty members applauded. 

"We feel like it's a win for the College and it's a win for us," he said. 

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