On Monday, Feb. 9, Pi Cafe staff learned of a potential plan to close the space when an employee of a vending machine company came in to take measurements for a new automated dining space that would purportedly replace the cafe.
“I spoke with someone I did not know, [who] informed us that Pi was closing and smart vending machines would be put in September,” Laura Goldner, who has worked at the cafe for eight years, wrote in a message to The Argus.
Having received no official communication of closure from the University, some Pi employees responded to the incident immediately, posting two videos onto a newly created Instagram account, @save.picafe, on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The Instagram account garnered over a thousand followers in less than three days.
Simultaneously, the University community has rallied around Pi staff after word of mouth and social media posts about the potential closure began circulating. The cafe has served as a beloved dining spot within Exley Science Center since its opening in 2003.
Pi Staff and Future Employment
Although the cafe is run by Bon Appétit Management Company, the University ultimately dictates its continual operations on campus. As of Thursday night, the University was yet to make a formal announcement to the community or Pi staff. However, the University responded to The Argus’ request for comment.
“The University is just beginning a collaborative process to plan next steps for dining in the new science building and in Exley Science Center,” the University wrote in an email to The Argus. “The University will provide updates once plans are finalized.”
The University addressed concerns over the future of Pi’s student employees after several voiced concerns about their status of employment.
“Regardless of any planning decisions, no jobs will be eliminated,” the University wrote.
Ongoing Talks: Student Input & The New Science Building
The University’s response to rumors over the closure of Pi cafe comes as it prepares to open a dining space in the New Science Building on Church St., set to open in Fall 2026.
Although the new cafe has been announced as part of the building for some time, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) did not receive any communication from administrators regarding changes to dining options prior to the leak on Instagram.
“This blindsided us on the WSA,” said Vice Chair of the Student Life Committee Casey Dunning-Sorey ’28, who is also a member of the dining sub-committee. “It was a failure on the side of the University, but I do believe them when they said that they were planning on telling us, because this is really still in its early stages. They’re looking to collaborate [with students], which is not something that I feel we can always say with the administration.”
Members of the Dining Committee met with Director of Auxiliary Services Michelle Myers-Brown, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Olt, and Bon Appétit Resident District Manager Michael Strumpf on Thursday, Feb. 12, to begin discussions surrounding the changes to dining on campus.
Strumpf did not respond to The Argus’ requests for comment.
According to Dunning-Sorey, the committee will play a limited role in giving input on the new cafe in the New Science Building.
What’s next?
In the meeting, the WSA learned that the new space in the New Science Building will host a wider variety of dining options designed with a larger staff footprint in mind.
“Although a lot of the student uproar was valid, I think that this [decision] will overwhelmingly be a positive,” Dunning-Sorey said. “Whatever happens in this Pi space, I can say with relative certainty, will fulfill a dining need on campus that we don’t currently have. So I’m really optimistic.’’
Dunning-Sorey confirmed that if the University goes through with plans to remove Pi, the vending machines would look far different from the vending machines common throughout campus.
“We’re not going to have Snickers bars and Kit Kats in there,” Dunning-Sorey said.
Students hope that their mobilization will preserve the cafe’s current space and employment opportunities.
Ava Samson ’26, who has worked at Pi for three years, made the account with the approval of Goldner and longtime Pi employee Miguel Rosa, hoping that publicizing the issue would put a stop to potential changes to the cafe.
The account features an email template that students and like-minded alumni can fill out and send to President Michael Roth ’78 and the University’s dining services. Rumors were taken seriously by the student body after the abrupt closure of Story and Soil last May, a contract termination that staff said also lacked forthcoming communication from the University.
“It seems to be in the early days of the decision being made,” Samson said. “That’s why we’re trying to harness as much student body support towards it, to catch it before it progresses too far.’’
Although the University has assured The Argus that the current Pi employees will remain employed within the Bon Appétit network, staff has no clarity on where they will be placed. Given that the cafe staff are Bon Appétit employees, they will have the opportunity to slot into new positions based on their seniority.
“We don’t know if we will be moved to the [New] Science Center,” Rosa, who has worked at Pi for 13 years, wrote in a message to The Argus. “It’s going to be new jobs that we will have to bid on.”
Despite reassurance of future employment, some Pi staff are skeptical of the proposed dining arrangements.
“From the pictures I’ve seen the new cafe or whatever it will be, [it] will not be the cozy type of atmosphere you get at Pi,” Goldner said.
Miles Craven can be reached at mcraven@wesleyan.edu.
Anabel Goode can be reached at agoode@wesleyan.edu.
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