The OWL

     Warren Central’s student-run restaurant is shifting into a new era, adding a bakery component and other improvements to modernize the program for the first time in decades.
     The Warrior Eastro, formerly known as the Threshold, is a student-run restaurant and cafe led by Chef Andrea Yount and Chef Chad Stearns. By working there, students learn how to prepare various foods and pastries and how to connect with the community. They also learn the best cooking practices, including how to keep things properly stored, how to keep their workspace sanitized, and how they can get certified in handling food. This year, students interested in baking will also get a chance to expand those skills.
     “I’m very excited for the baking and pastry program,” Yount said. “It’s brand new and something we piloted last year, but we’re really going to be able to showcase it in the new Eastro cafe.”
     This program not only gives students who are interested in baking and cooking more experience, but it also allows them to do so in a safe and friendly environment.
        According to Stearns, the Threshold first opened in the 1970s when the Walker Career Center first opened. Lighting and furniture has changed over the years, but this large aesthetic move and new name is the first big “rebirth” the program has received since then.
     “I feel like we are taking the program into the modern era of cafes and gastro pub style restaurants,” he said. “Not that it was disco old, but it needed some love.”
      Students said that the opportunity of working in the Eastro is beneficial because people who want to do anything related to cooking or baking in the future will get much needed experience from being involved in the program. The Warrior Eastro is creating opportunities for students by allowing them to get experience in an active workspace, enabling lifelong skills that could lead to many career paths, especially in the food industry.
     “I want the experience of what it would be like to work in a cafe in case I want to do it in the future,” senior Akilah Rusununguko-Taylor said.
      Rusununguko-Taylor and her classmates are excited to test out their creativity by trying different recipes. The Warrior Eastro’s goal is to enhance students' sense of how to work efficiently and effectively, as well as helping them learn how to deal with customers in a professional atmosphere.
     “It’s a student-operated program, so it's going to give them a step up into the restaurant industry to give them some experience, especially for kids who don't have a job yet,” Yount said.
     The Warrior Eastro does not have an official opening date set yet, as the culinary students are currently working on perfecting their safety and food handling skills. 
     Once it opens to the public, teachers can support the student chefs by ordering food through an app or by visiting the physical Eastro space in the Walker Career Center. Community members can also visit the newly refurbished sit-down space when it opens, and an outdoor seating area is in the works as well. Students cannot order from the Eastro.