You can’t cross Vermont 15 and find a slice from Purple Knight’s Pizza, but you can find the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere of the new PK Café.
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The newly renovated PK Cafe' has a new menu, soft jazz music and inviting new couches.
(Photo by Kayla Sibilia) |
On Jan. 26, PK Café, formerly Purple Knight’s Pizza, officially opened its doors to St. Michael’s College and the surrounding community.
An old friend returns renewed
Purple Knight’s Pizza closed in December 2008. PK Café welcomed its customers with a new look and new attitude.
PK Café did what co-owner Leslie Wells called a “soft opening” on Jan. 26 so they could make sure they were fully prepared.
“It took us a couple of days to work the kinks out because we made a bunch of changes,” Wells said. “We made changes in the stations, we made changes in some of the food, so we had to make sure that everything would work and we’re still kind of doing that.”
During the first few days of business there were so many preparations to be made that there was only one word that Wells could use to describe the scene at PK Café.
“Hectic,” she said. “Trying to get everything back in house and everything prepped- we didn’t have our sign out yet.”
The establishment has remained busy even though PK Café no longer does pizza, which was the most time-consuming product, she said.
“It steadily got busier throughout the week as people figured out that we are open,” said Grace Campbell, a PK Café employee.
Although it is a different place, many loyal customers continue to come in and eat. Among them is David Boyle, a St. Michael’s graduate student. Even though the menu is different, he is not disappointed with PK Café, he said.
“The menu is a little thinner, but other than that the food is of the same quality as it was before,” Boyle said.
A new concept
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The first few days after the opening of PK Cafe' were, "hectic," co-owner Leslie Wells said.
(Photo by Kayla Sibilia)
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Purple Knight’s Pizza closed at the end of November. Co-owners Wells and Rick Hubbard had considered closing the establishment for a long time partly due to the increasing economic crisis but also because Wells and Hubbard were looking to create a new image for themselves, they said.
“We were limited,” Wells said. “We thought about it for a long time. How can we really do more of what we want to do?”
The lack of room for expansion and creativity, compounded by the rising cost of making and delivering pizzas, were the major reasons for shutting down, Wells said.
While Purple Knight's was closed, Wells and Hubbard were attending to personal matters while thinking of how to revamp the restaurant, they said.
It was during this period that they came up with the concept for PK Café, Wells said.
Changing the vibe
Although PK Café is a new direction for the owners, the changes that have happened have actually been few, Wells said.
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Sophomore Phoebe Green relaxes on the couches while looking over the new menu.
(Photo by Kayla Sibilia) |
“Hopefully, we can offer enough to the students at St. Mike’s as well as also to all the business that goes by,” Wells said.
There were mostly physical changes to help lighten the mood, she said. Some of the changes include soft jazz music, new couches and a pastel pink paint job.
Wells wanted to have a place that had a relaxed mood, she said.
There were only a few changes made to the item, the biggest being the elimination of pizza, Wells said.
According to Wells, making pizza was not cost-effective. With the prices of the ingredients rising and the amount of business at a plateau, it soon became illogical to make pizzas, Wells said.
Junior Meghan Kerrigan, thinks PK Café is a good change.
Even without pizza, it still remains a good option for food when going off of campus, she said.
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