Business slows at Murray-Dodge Café after main entrance closes due to Art Museum construction

In the weeks following Murray-Dodge Café’s reopening for the fall semester on Sept. 4, student employees and visitors say there have been noticeably fewer patrons using the space due to the hindered access to its basement space. The café’s main entrance, which provides direct access to the common room and open kitchen, is an outdoor staircase facing the Princeton University Art Museum’s current construction site. Since the beginning of the summer, the entrance has been closed due to its proximity to ongoing museum construction.

Isabella Sibaja ’26, a manager at Murray-Dodge, said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian that she believes “a lot of people don’t really know where the café is” due to the closed entrance. 

Sibaja, one of about 30 students who supply the café with cookies and tea from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. every day, also commented on a noticeable decrease in visitors.

“[Last year,] you could [make] trays and trays of cookies, and you’d still run out. But we don’t have that problem anymore,” she said. “We’ve gone through a lot less butter and eggs than last year at this time.”

Located in the basement of Murray-Dodge Hall, which is also home to the Office of Religious Life (ORL), Murray-Dodge has typically been a popular student destination, with students often gathering on the chairs and couches to study, socialize, and eat in-house baked cookies. With the entrance closed, many first-years are unaware of the location of the café.

Instead, Sibaja stressed the importance of word-of-mouth outreach for helping new students learn about the cafe. For example, several first-year students told the ‘Prince’ they joined the Murray-Dodge staff this fall after hearing about the opportunity from upperclass students during the Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI) program this summer.

Staff at Murray-Dodge are also relying on Instagram and Hoagie Mail to attract students. However, returning patron Sofia Sanchez ’27 told the ‘Prince’ she had difficulty finding the new entrance to the café, despite following an instructional video posted on the cafe’s Instagram. 

Sanchez is an associate Audience editor at the ‘Prince.’

Alex Pereyra ’28 reported a similar experience during the first week of classes.

“I tried several times to find Murray-Dodge,” he told the ‘Prince.’ “It was rough — but I wanted cookies.” 

Despite the challenges posed by construction, some students, including Sanchez, have continued to frequent Murray-Dodge. 

“I thought [the construction] would make me want to come here less, but I’m still coming here the same amount,” Sanchez told the ‘Prince.’ She cited the “warm atmosphere” of Murray-Dodge as her primary reason for returning.

ORL Operations and Events Coordinator Joanne Campagnoli-Sismondo mentioned that signage had been added to aid in wayfinding. She noted that students could still “come up the stairs from the basement, and they can go out into the courtyard.” She said signage along the stairway between the first and basement floors of Murray-Dodge Hall has been “helpful” in directing students. 

Returning staff member Michael Nguyen ’27 noted in an interview with the ‘Prince’ that while fewer students are visiting, cookie consumption remains high. There’s a two-cookie limit per person, but Nguyen reported that many students treat it more like a suggestion.

“The workers are watching how many cookies you take,” he said.

Vivien Wong is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’

Christopher Bao is an assistant News editor and the accessibility director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

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