Joe Juda

Although it will be located a few blocks farther from campus than the Architecture Café was, McGill students will soon have a new option for student-run, reasonably priced lunches.

The Ghetto Shul, a student-run synagogue, will soon open a vegetarian, student-run café at its Park Avenue facility. According to Elana Schilling, programming chair on the Ghetto Shul student board, the project began in the summer, but its importance increased after the closure of the Arch Café.

“We realized this is really something that the students need,” she said. “Ghetto Shul is really a space for students and someplace they can call their own, and food is a part of that.”

Because Ghetto Shul is located in a former restaurant, Rabbi Leibish Hundert described the café as a “natural progression” for the group. The full kitchen meant that the building required few renovations, and that almost all of the food production, including baking bread, will be done on location.  

“There will be a few options to choose from [and] simplicity is the key,” said Adam Stotland, who will be one of the café’s managers as well as its chef. “Everything will be made from scratch that day and we will be careful not to waste, so I feel making a few items every day will ensure there are no leftovers.”

According to Stotland, the menu will include daily soups, rice and lentil dishes, curry dishes, simple sandwiches on homemade bread, baked treats, and, of course, great coffee. Prices for lunch will range from $5 to $10.

Stotland also emphasized that because the initiative’s main concept is “folk café,” the group is eager to hear suggestions from the patrons.

“We will have suggestion boxes where people can express their ideas on anything from decor to menu items,” he said. “I already have people interested in sending me their carrot ginger soup recipe and their grandma’s brownie recipe.”

While the cafe will be staffed primarily by student volunteers, Schilling explained that the group hopes to widen their client base beyond the McGill community.

“Students who show their ID card will get a discount on food,” she said. “But the cafe will be open to the wider Montreal community as well, so anyone can come and check it out.”

Faculty of Education Chair Manny Freedman, who also helps coordinate the many concerts held at the Ghetto Shul, said the café will also look to display student artwork and possibly incorporate a musical aspect.

“I think we have this wonderful space, only slightly outside McGill campus,” he said. “It’s an open space for students to enhance their cultural knowledge, to get together and have fun.”

“Purely economically, not everybody at McGill has the capacity to pay large sums for their food, and the reality is that the raw materials don’t cost that much for us, and we don’t have all that much overhead,” Leibish added. “Conscious eating and healthy food that is made with love are important as part of being a healthy person, and certainly important for a community of learning and study.”

The café  plans to open for business within the next month.