A product of Microsoft’s Café Lifecycle remodel program, Café 36 now features exhibition cooking suites integrated into seating areas, nine high-impact station concepts and hydroponic towers.
One of the corporate dining segment’s most innovative programs, the onsite foodservice operation at Microsoft’s headquarters campus in Redmond, Wash., brims with spectacular venues serving delicious, trendy, yet very healthful food with an incredible amount of variety.
Part of the strategy for ensuring that standards remain upheld and venues and concepts don’t get stale is the Café Lifecycle remodel program that is part of a strategy to continuously improve and enhance the Microsoft customer experience in dining venues by bringing culinary advancement, technology integration, innovative brands and improved ambiance through regular upgrades.
The goal is to drive customer satisfaction and employee participation, which in turn is expected to enhance employee productivity as well as “attract, develop and keep” talent per the company mission.
Last year, Café 36 was chosen for Lifecycle Remodeling due to the facility’s age and declining performance metrics. Closed on Nov. 20 for redesign by architect firm MG2 using focus group and remodel survey data that encompassed everything from design and lighting to seating and food concepts/brands, Café 36 was reopened earlier this year.
The overall design theme for the remodel was Livening Up the Dining Space, which was manifested in the concept mix, with exhibition cooking suites integrated into seating areas. There are five feature/anchor stations:
- Coop de Grille, a “luxurious” chicken and ranch fare concept combined with grill items;
- Dekotora Teriyaki & Ramen, which offers a variety of teriyaki bowls, kebabs and entrees;
- Himalaya, with authentic Indian cuisine;
- Veloce, featuring cut-to-order Roman-style pizza; and
- Bosque, which offers build-your-own burritos, bowls, tacos and salads.
In addition to these, the café includes four other concepts, plus a Pepsi Spire machine that along with infused waters, canned beverages and milk is part of a robust free beverage program. The other four concepts are:
- Butcher + Baker, a deli featuring open-faced and build-your-own sandwiches;
- Thirty-Six Farm, with fresh greens, scratch-made dressings and hot toppers;
- Evergreen Plate, featuring items sourced from Washington State; and
- Espresso, with Caffe Ladro-branded coffee and Two Leaves branded teas.
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