The Bistro

Written by Sarah Samala, Class of 2028

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Wide windows littered with posters of campus events, a hand-drawn chalkboard menu, and a variety of donated couches and painted chairs; students, faculty and the Salem community are all-too familiar with Willamette University’s resident coffee shop, the Bistro. Located across from the Willamette University Bookstore in the Putnam University Center, the cafe is a popular hangout spot, performance venue, and stop for prospective students and visiting families alike. However, unlike many other campus’ cafes, from the moment it opened in 1986, the Bistro has been entirely student managed and run. While well-known across campus for humongous chocolate chip cookies and Buzz Bars, the history of the Bistro is rarely discussed outside of historical Collegian articles. 

Though the Bistro today is known for its unique and cluttered atmosphere, at its conception, the Bistro was designed to be much more refined. The coffee shop began as the idea of two Willamette sophomores: John Donovan and Eric Fishman. The pair noticed that the campus lacked late-night-eateries, thus they devised the Bistro as a solution. With political science professor Robert Hawkins as their advisor, they presented their idea to then-Willamette University President, Jerry Hudson, who approved and agreed to fund construction. Originally, the Bistro was designed to emulate a sophisticated French cafe, with “hanging plants, ceiling fans, soft lights, and antique furniture.”¹ Overall, Donovan and Fishman wanted the Bistro to act as a social hub, an academic and cultural forum for collegial discussion, and a performance venue with an open piano and gallery for students to showcase their art. After researching several coffeehouses in UC Santa Cruz, they began construction in the Collegian’s former publications room of the University Center. The Bistro opened with ten staff, as well as Donovan and Fishman as the cafe’s first managers during the 1986 University’s Opening Days.²

At its opening, the menu of the Bistro was incredibly diverse: serving artisan eats such as cheese plates and truffles, alongside some of the Bistro’s modern staples, like chocolate chip cookies, which only cost .25 cents in 1986. The Bistro also sported unusually late hours: closing at 1am every day, courtesy of Donovan and Fishman’s original intentions for the cafe.

During its first year of operation, the Bistro cemented itself as a pillar of the campus culture. On Friday nights, the Bistro served as a venue for the “Bistro Rap,” a seminar that facilitated discussion between professors and students about divisive topics, such as Willamette divestment against South Africa³ and LGBTQ populations on campus.⁴ The Bistro was also home to artistic performances, “Club Bistro” which was funded by ASWU, brought performers and comedians to campus.⁵ While the Bistro’s first year was a success for the student life of Willamette, the cafe failed to break even.⁶ Nonetheless, the Bistro continued to refine its business model to become truly self-sustaining.

Similar to how it is known today, by 1992, the Bistro sported mismatched chairs, less-than-flawless tables and even a broken piano. Though the atmosphere of the Bistro now inhabited more of a “funky seventies folk style”⁷ rather than the “French Cafe of the 40s”⁸ its founders wanted it to be at conception, it was still looked upon fondly by students and faculty alike. In his opinion piece, “Be Thankful we are blessed… with the Bistro,” Matthew Raley calls the cafe “an odd and endearing mess.”⁹ In 1995, the Bistro had grown from only ten staff to nearly thirty, and with it came the need for more room. The cafe built a new, larger location during renovations for the Putnam University Center,¹⁰ the same location it resides in today.

In the first fifteen years of operation, the Bistro employees learned purely from “Bistro oral lore”¹¹ passed down from other employees. The cafe only gained an official handbook in 2000, when Peter Stratman, a Bistro manager from 1998-1999, wrote almost forty pages of instructions, tips and traditions for future employees. A few of the handbook’s most notable lines are the employee violation section, aptly named, “Ways to get fired,” and the opening to the cafe’s policies for study abroad.

“Although the Bistro is undoubtedly the finest job on campus, instances do arise when employees must detach from the mother ship.”

Peter Stratman on Going Abroad.¹²

Metaphors aside, Stratman echoes the original tenants of the cafe’s founders, naming the Bistro as both a “cultural and social forum” for Willamette students, and stressing the importance of keeping prices low to stay affordable for them. Cheri Kate, a Bistro manager from 2001-2002, shares a similar sentiment.

“the greatness of this place is alive because it belongs to us, and because, ultimately, we can do whatever we want with it, (as long as it takes in the dough)”

Cheri Kate in her letter to future Bistro managers.¹³

In 2002, due to a reduced budget, Willamette University stopped absorbing the Bistro’s debt, making the cafe truly independent from the University.¹⁴ However, the Bistro continued to support Willamette students throughout the early 2000s. Originating sometime in 1999-2000, the cafe regularly held open mic nights on Thursdays for student performers and artists to showcase their work.¹⁵ The Bistro also explored new ventures by partnering up with the student radio, WIRE in 2004¹⁶ and opening a student art gallery in 2005.¹⁷ 

In celebration of its twenty year anniversary, on September 29th 2006, Willamette University invited Bistro alumni back to campus. Funded by Donovan and Fishman, for that Friday, the Bistro offered free coffee and cookies, even inviting alumni to come back behind the counter to help with the rush. The Bistro had a longstanding tradition of hiring employees from all different groups and majors;¹⁸ during the reunion, it was discovered that Bistro alumni careers ranges from attorneys to scientists and even opera performers.¹⁹

Over the next ten years, the Bistro grew to be what we know it as today. The cafe added colorfully painted chairs,²⁰ courtesy of WUlapalooza, and student-designed murals.²¹ In 2019, the Putnam University Center was renovated again, and with it came a 25 square feet expansion of the Bistro.²² However, when the university was forced into lockdown during March 2020, the Bistro closed soon after.²³ Throughout the next two years, the Bistro struggled to make a profit, having to reduce weekday hours to stay afloat.²⁴ In 2023, ASWU voted to cover the Bistro’s debt, which had grown to $42,000 post-COVID.²⁵ With the cafe’s debts cleared, Bistro employees were able to work towards expanding services and replacing old equipment. Despite its survival through the COVID pandemic, the Bistro did not come out entirely unscathed. The cafe’s hours, which once spanned an impressive nineteen hour day and Sunday, had been reduced to only Monday through Thursday from 7:30am to 9:30pm and until 5:30pm on Fridays. 

Beginning from the minds of two sophomores, the Bistro has transformed from an elegant establishment, to a well-loved, cluttered cafe, to one of the millions of businesses shut down during the COVID pandemic and one of the few who were fortunate enough to survive it. However, throughout all of its forty years of operation, the Bistro has always supported Willamette students, whether as a venue for art majors to display their artistic skills, a fast-paced on-campus job, or a hangout spot where you can grab one of the cheapest cups of coffee in Salem.

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Endnotes

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1. Martha Bennett, “Bistro Takes Shape,” Willamette Collegian, 14 March 1986, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/7485. ^
2. Bistro, 1987-1988, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 32. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
3. Kelly Hartwell, “Bistro Rap: Duvall Advocates WU Divestment,” Willamette Collegian, 17 October 1986, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/7740.
4. Wendy Willis, “Students Rap on Homosexuality,” Willamette Collegian, 8 December 1986, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8459. 
5. Pat Kurkoski, “Bistro Willamette continues success,” Willamette Collegian, 29 April 1988, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8271.
6. Bistro, 1987-1988, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 32. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
7. Dani Stevens, “Alumni and Students Celebrate Bistro’s 20th Anniversary,” Willamette Collegian, 4 October 2006, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8108. 
8. Martha Bennett, “Bistro Takes Shape,” Willamette Collegian, 14 March 1986, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/7485.
9. Matthew Raley, “Be Thankful we are Blessed… with the Bistro,” Willamette Collegian, 20 November 1992, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/10569.
10. J. Markham Furman, “Bistro Delay Sparks Caffeine Withdrawal,” Willamette Collegian, 1 September 1995, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/10242.
11. Handbook, 2000-2001, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 33. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
12. Handbook, 2000-2001, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 33. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
13. Policies and Bylaws, 2002, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 34. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
14. Ben Nystrom, “Bistro may have money troubles,” Willamette Collegian, 28 February 2002, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8149.
15. Dani Stevens, “Alumni and Students Celebrate Bistro’s 20th Anniversary,” Willamette Collegian, 4 October 2006, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8108. 
16. Anthony Hooper, “ Through the WIRE, resnet at Bistro,” Willamette Collegian, 18 February 2004, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8760.
17.  Chris Foss, “First annual Bistro galley to offer art, guitars, cheese, and coffee,” Willamette Collegian, 30 November 2005, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8626.
18. Behzod Sirjani, “More than cookies and coffee: The Bistro’s unique role in the Willamette Community,” Willamette Collegian, 11 February 2009, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8217. 
19. Bistro Reunion, 2006, Series III, Box: 24, Folder: 7. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
20. Ena Htet et al, “What’s brewing at the Bistro?” Willamette Collegian, 9 October 2013, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/8807.
21.  Emily Hoard, “Bistro to debut new murals through fall,” Willamette Collegian, 16 October 2013, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/10549. 
22.  Reed Bertran, “Putnam receives renovations,” Willamette Collegian, 18 September 2019, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/39911. 
23.  Jasper Jones, “Bistro management makes tough decision to close beloved campus coffee shop,” Willamette Collegian, 13 April 2020, https://www.willamettecollegian.com/post/bistro-management-makes-tough-decision-to-close-beloved-campus-coffee-shop. 
24. Matthew Mahoney, “Sales down 70 percent, the Bistro bucks its business model to meet challenging times,” Willamette Collegian, 19 November 2020, https://www.willamettecollegian.com/post/sales-down-70-percent-the-bistro-bucks-its-business-model-to-meet-challenging-times.
25.  Chrissy Ewald, “ASWU clears Bistro’s $42,000 debt,” Willamette Collegian, 6 November 2023, https://www.willamettecollegian.com/post/aswu-clears-bistro-s-42-000-debt. 

Image Citations

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• “Bistro,” Wallulah 1989, 1989, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/11781. 
• Bistro, 1987-1988, Series III, Box: 11, Folder: 32. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
• Bistro RAP, 1987-1988, 2, Box: 6, Folder: 43. Willamette University Office of the Chaplains records, WUA042. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
• Daniela Almeida. (1992). [Two Bistro workers in the cafe’s old location]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/554448528071137/.
• Bistro Reunion, 2006, Series III, Box: 24, Folder: 7. Willamette University Office of Student Activities records, WUA054. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.