Making the grade: the innovative design of the cafeteria at Cary Junior High School in Cary, Ill., is scoring high marks with both students and school officials

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 10, 2003

With more than 980 students, lunchtime at Cary Junior High School in Cary, Ill., is not a leisurely affair.

Located on the site of a former farm field, the 144,000-square-foot Cary Junior High School was designed to help meet the needs of the community's growing population. To help cope with the sheer mass of students at the school, architects Perkins and Will of Chicago created a facility that breaks down the student population into smaller, more intimate groupings of about 225 students. Foodservice consultant Bob Wolfe, FCSI, of R Wolfe & Associates, Ltd. Pawleys Island, S.C., and Crystal Lake, Ill., took a similar tack when designing the junior high school's foodservice component.

"A foodservice consultant is like an artist," Wolfe said. "We decide how we're going to feed the students by responding to the needs of the client."

To feed the more than 980 hungry youngsters, Wolfe met with school officials to determine the facility's foodservice needs. Cary's foodservice is managed by Arbor Management Inc., an Addison, Ill.-based contract feeder. Similar to Perkins and Will's strategy of splitting up the student population, the school implemented seven lunch periods lasting 20 minutes each, Wolfe said.

Keeping in mind the volume of eaters, Wolfe called for a traditional cafeteria line with a twist. The cafeteria features two tray lines that meet in the center with a double-sided cashier station, giving the stall the ability to check out two students at once. "Straight lines are faster than a scatter system," Wolfe said. "You call only feed so many kids through a cashier at a time."

The cafeteria's kitchen also was designed with speed in mind. A pass-through window separating the service line from the back-of-the-house enables kitchen staffers to restock in a hurry. The wall also prevents people from seeing into the functional, yet unattractive, kitchen, he added. Wolfe squeezed his limited budget and added to the appeal of the cafeteria line with various wall graphics, including a sports theme. A specially designed tray drop-off area helps hide dirty dishes from students' view and keeps the kitchen and sanitation areas separate to follow health codes.

As part of his meeting with school officials to determine the school's foodservice requirements, Wolfe learned its food-delivery schedules and determined the kitchen equipment and cafeteria servery needs.

Fast Facts:

Project: Cary Junior High School

Client: Cary School District 26, Cary, Ill.

Foodservice Facilities Consultant: Bob Wolfe, FCSI, R Wolfe & Associates, Ltd.; Pawleys Island, S.C. and Crystal Lake, Ill.

Architect: Perkins and Will, Chicago