The café inside Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore, Middletown, Conn., is closing. Wesleyan University announced that grown, the franchise owned and operated by Shannon Allen since the bookshop opened in 2017, will close this month, at which point Wesleyan's on-campus dining vendor, Bon Appetit, will take over on a temporary basis through the end of the spring semester.
"While we will no longer be operating grown at the Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore, bringing grown 'home' to Middletown has been a proud moment during our journey to reinvent fast food," the franchise said in a statement. "We have thoroughly enjoyed our time serving students, faculty, and staff, working alongside the Wesleyan University and bookstore teams, and have loved being a part of the bridge between Wesleyan and the entire Middlesex County community."
Christopher Olt, Wesleyan's associate v-p for finance, commented: "While we are sad to say goodbye to grown, we wish them luck as they expand their brand to include a franchise model. In the meantime, we look forward to determining an appropriate future direction for the café, incorporating the valued input of the campus community."
The university plans to consult with students, faculty and other campus community members to inform a request for proposals for future vendors of the café. "We feel it is important to step back and really engage the community," Olt said. A new vendor is expected to be chosen by next summer.