MIDDLETOWN — For over two decades, the Valley View Cafe has been a fixture on the campus of Connecticut Valley Hospital, high on a hill overlooking the city. But it's now serving up more than food — it’s also serving up hope.
After being forced to close during the pandemic, the cafe is back in business. While al fresco dining and to-go options have replaced indoor dining, the cafe, now dubbed Valley View To Go, is still serving up its well-known favorite dishes and hot desserts.
“Reopening symbolized hope, and I think, as a leader, we have to be intentional about the ways we give hope to the people we serve — persons in recovery — as well as to the people who are doing the service,” said hospital CEO Lakisha Hyatt. It was one of her key objectives to reopen the cafeteria when she was named to the position in 2020.
The cafe also instills hope in hospital clients who are in recovery, she said, by offering them the opportunity to gain valuable vocational skills by assisting customers. “The Valley View Cafe is extremely important because it’s a vocational program for the individuals that we serve — individuals in recovery,” she said.
“They do all of the customer interactions, and it is skill-building for them, as well as preparing them for vocational skills that they are able to use post-discharges,” she added.
Long a favorite with locals, cafe reviews have been favorable online also. On Yelp, Tim D. of Middletown called the cafe a “hidden gem,” and praised the food and the prices: “Hands down the best overall breakfast and lunch in town.”
John B., also of Middletown, said the burgers were good, and the cafe had the “best onion rings around.”
Open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. the cafe serves breakfas and lunch. Egg and cheese sandwiches and stuffed breakfast burritos are highlights of the breakfast menu, while burgers, salads and club sandwiches have become lunch staples. Each day’s menu is different, and there is always a hot menu item daily.
Prices are quite affordable too. A guacamole turkey burger with pepper jack cheese and house-made guacamole on a brioche bun served with chips and a pickle cost $8.75. Desserts are also made on site. Recent offerings, priced just over $3 each, have included a chocolate truffle peanut butter mousse cake, carrot cake and made-to-order cannolis.
A dedicated phone line allows customers to place their orders in advance. Hyatt said they will be offering online ordering in the future.
Michael Cole, director of nutrition and food services, said customers can find a variety of selections, including those that are health-conscious and vegetarian. The goal is “to be innovative and creative. Anything you can get in downtown Middletown, we have it here,” he said.
When the cafe was closed due to COVID-19, Cole said people started going off campus to eat, or brought back food from other places. “Now there is a central place where people come and they can get different things. That’s really exciting,” he said. “Valley View has been on this campus for a long time and people know us and what they were accustomed to in the past, and they look forward to coming here.”
Asked what she is most proud of about the cafe, Hyatt said it’s “the service to our patients and the service to our community. We have a meaningful way for the people that we serve to learn, and for them to gain skills to better equip them for community reintegration, and it is benefiting the entire community.”
“The cafe definitely is a unifying center. It’s central to the campus, and it’s unifying because it draws people from all over the campus,” she added, noting staff as well as patients and visitors frequent the cafe.
Located in Haviland Hall, the cafe’s open door policy also makes it a beacon for the community. “It really is an opportunity for a blend and a demonstrational depiction of true community," Hyatt added. "That’s why it must always stay open.”
For more information, call 860-262-5161.
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CT Valley Hospital's Valley View To Go cafe is back in business - Middletown Press
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