The Grove House Kitchen at Pitzer College welcomed customers for the first time this semester on Oct. 27 after a broken dishwasher delayed their operations. Despite the delay, the student-run restaurant saw over 200 visitors from across the 5Cs during its opening week, with many students emphasizing the role the Grove House plays in the college community.
Although community members could still spend time in the Grove House building space, Leo Godsberg PZ ’27, a Kitchen lead baker and shift lead, said the Grove House Kitchen opened late due to concern over a broken dishwasher. To maintain health-code standards without a dishwasher, however, Grove House staff decided to open using disposable dishware.
“We ended up deciding two weeks ago that we were going to do an opening without the sanitizer and just use compostable plates, plastic forks and to-go cups because we heard the demand and we wanted it [reopened] too,” he said.
According to Godsberg, the dishwasher still has not been fixed despite submitting a work order early in the semester.
When the Kitchen reopened, Gwen Rhinehart PZ ’28 said she enjoyed the lively social atmosphere she felt walking into the Grove House, and that she missed the kitchen while it was closed.
“Immediately, the Grove House vibes are as usual, as I’m used to them, very Pitzer,” Rhinehart said. “I could tell everyone was working very hard to coordinate, and so it was, as always, a nice little communal vibe, and everyone was kind of laughing and talking.”
Ceci Montgomery-Eder PZ ’28 echoed Rhinehart’s excitement, noting that Pitzer’s campus did not feel the same while it was closed.
“It felt quiet on campus, without [the Grove House] being open,” Montgomery-Eder said. “I’ve been very sad that the Grove House was not open yet, and then I saw on their Instagram page that they were open, so I begged my friends to go with me on Thursday morning, and it was very fun.”
Grove House staff said they trained a larger-than-usual pool of new hires: roughly 20 employees, according to Godsberg.
“You love seeing this community grow,” Godsberg said. “We went through a really rigorous process of screening people and doing awesome training and getting people on board and confident in their own abilities to serve people food.”
“I think everyone has just been super excited,” Godsberg said. “Every single staff member at the Grove House has been itching to open up to the public and to do service.”
Anna Wilson PZ ’27, a Grove House shift lead and events coordinator, said that sharing the space with other student organizations, like Pitzer Advocates and Pitzer Outdoor Adventures (POA), makes it a key part of the Pitzer community.
“It’s really special because there’s tradition that’s built into it, like POA has always been at Pitzer or hosted at the Grove House,” Wilson said. “But there’s also so many firsts to it. During our open house, the band Fox Glove did their debut here … It makes me feel very connected to the broader Pitzer community.”
In the weeks approaching the reopening, Godsberg said the entire staff looked forward to its return.
“I think everyone has just been super excited,” Godsberg said. “Every single staff member at the Grove House has been itching to open up to the public and to do service.”
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