Matt Weir / The Collegian Online

When diners walk into The Vintage Room, a more traditional restaurant on California State University, Fresno’s campus, white tablecloths cover the tables inside with gold cloth napkins folded on a small plate accompanied with silverware. The walls are pastel yellow and decorated with art.

The Vintage Room looks and feels like a refined restaurant. There is only one thing missing – students.

Students like senior Raul Lopez walk by The Vintage Room regularly, but have never paid attention to the restaurant.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I really can’t tell you why students rarely come to The Vintage Room,” said dining services manager Karen Focarazzo. “Students are definitely welcome here, and I wish more of them would come in.”

The Vintage Room lists many Fresno State products on its menu, such as wine and ice cream.

“It’s important that we support other entities on campus,” Focarazzo said. These items are available for purchase at The Gibson Farm Market on campus, and serving them at The Vintage Room is a great way to advertise the products, according to Focarazzo.

The menu prices at The Vintage Room are moderately priced. The cheapest food item is $7 and the most expensive is salmon, which is $12. The salad bar, served with homemade soup is only $7.75, while a Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad at Chick-fil-A is $6.60.

The Vintage Room also purchases organic produce grown at Fresno State.

Focarazzo said the jalapenos and lettuce they receive weekly are freshly picked.

“Most of the produce that goes on the salad bar is as fresh as you can get,” Focarazzo said.

The artwork displayed around the restaurant is from Fresno State students.

“We have a lot of lunch meetings here for faculty and the public, and I wanted the community to see the students’ art,” Focarazzo said.

Fresno State senior Jason Blackmon was surprised to know there was a restaurant on campus that served Fresno State products.

“If I would have known all that, I would have eaten there a long time ago,” Blackmon said.

By Leanna Serns
The Collegian