Renovated BC3 cafeteria opens
Brian McCafferty entered the new Vintage@BC3 Bistro for the first time Wednesday morning before attending a meeting with fellow Butler County Community College trustees.
“This,” he said, “is fantastic.”
Seated just inside was Evan Sutton, a networking and cybersecurity student from Butler who was finishing a western burger with bacon, barbecue sauce and onion rings.
“This is really cozy and inviting in here,” Sutton said. “And the food is good, too.”
BC3 trustees approved an agreement Oct. 15 that authorized Vintage Coffeehouse, to succeed CRH Catering Co. as operator, manager and food service provider on the college’s main campus in Butler Township.
The bistro debuted Tuesday to mostly BC3 students, faculty and staff on the first day of the spring semester. A community grand opening is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
“BC3 is the community’s college,” said Peter Kupas, who with his wife, Angela, owns Vintage Coffeehouse. “We had a couple of community members come in (Wednesday) morning and they said that was the first time they had ever been on campus. There is so much to do here with the (Shaffer and Imhoff) walking trails and the library.”
Megan Coval, BC3’s president, said Vintage’s bistro and café “reflect the kind of welcoming, inclusive environment we have always worked to create as the community’s college.”
The Vintage@BC3 Bistro seats about 75 and features new tables, chairs and booths, 75-inch television screens and an electric fireplace, where Brynn Siegel, a biological science student from Zelienople, was having an American cheeseburger and french fries.
The Kupases opened Vintage Coffeehouse in May 2022. Kupas, at age 46, graduated magna cum laude in BC3’s Class of 2023 with an associate degree in the college’s business management career program.
Vintage Coffeehouse will sell its own menu items and foods made by Nosh & Nest and Pennie’s Bake Shop & Espresso Bar , both in Butler, and Batch in Saxonburg, Kupas said.
The Pioneer Café needed to be updated, said McCafferty, the BC3 trustee.
“But this is above and beyond what I thought it was going to be,” he said. “This has a very comfortable vibe when you walk in. I see the coffee shop look here, which is really great and relaxing for students to come in and study and hang out, to have a place to gather and have a sense of community.”
Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.
