Earlier this year, I wrote about the student-run, on-campus dining experience that is Cafe Laura. It is open for lunch and has frequent themed dinners. Over the summer, the eatery was closed for extensive remodeling of the serving station area. The remodeling took a total of four months and the restaurant re-opened on August 25th.

Cafe Laura

Photo by Caitlin Wolper

Cafe Laura, located in the Mateer building on campus, was able to complete the renovations using around $1.2 million, part of which was supplied by donors, according to their website. These renovations are considered to be the largest  the building has seen in 20 years, a fact noted by John O’Neill (Director of School of Hospitality Management).

So, what has been done to the space? Well, it has been drastically opened up to provide a better experience for both students and staff. There are new fare stations paired with newer equipment/technology.

Cafe Laura

Photo by Caitlin Wolper

There are Grab-and-Go stations along with an in-house dining station. You can have pizza by the slice, make yourself a salad at their new salad bar or enjoy various dishes prepared by the staff. Some other serving stations, besides the pizza and salad, include soup, “homestyle” and grille.

There is also a new coffee shop called “King Espresso Bar”, named after the PSU alum donor, Elizabeth King, who made the shop possible. The section offers Starbucks beverages, PSU Bakery items and Irving’s Bagels.

Cafe Laura

Photo by Caitlin Wolper

Cafe Laura is open for lunch (11 am through 1 pm) and the coffee shop is open from 8 am to 1 pm. There are also themed dinners Tuesday through Thursday that you can sign up for on the Cafe Laura website.

Cafe Laura

Pure bliss. Photo Taken by Caitlin Wolper

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