PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 7, 2025—Dining services at The Wheeler School has opened a new walkup window, with mobile ordering debuting this month, allowing students and faculty the opportunity to pre-order and pay for meals that they can retrieve quickly with nearly no wait time.
Called The Purple Cow Café, the operation occupies the space of the school’s original meal serving line, back when it was girls-only. It has been walled off since then, as the school grew, became co-ed, and built new serving and dining facilities. While its primary dining service and a Market offering hot and cold grab-and-go items both do well, Director of Dining Services Torri Hieber picked up on some customer feedback indicating the need for something more.
Students are able to leave campus for food, and much temptation lies among nearby competition. “My goal is to keep these kids on campus,” Hieber says, “and to achieve this, we need more outlets and options for them. So I utilized resources we already have. We took our most popular PopUps, used the corresponding CulinArt microconcept, and The Wheeler Walkup was born.”
The debut menu—Kickin’ Chicken sandwiches, Mac & Cheesy bowls, cookies, and beverages—is a bit limited in an effort to control waste and learn the Café’s potential. So far, it has been well received, meeting needs that Hieber identified. “I have heard from students that they would love to be able to grab and go, not needing to wait in line,” she explains. “There is also the perception challenge, where they may not want to eat what the lower school is eating. And I am always thinking about accessibility for everyone. There is a large population of students who have social anxiety and may not want to talk to us, so this can help bridge the gap.”
During March, the Purple Café was available to upper school students, faculty, and staff, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the goal of adding a few hundred dollars in sales per day. Click here to see a video compilation of images from its debut.
