Edgewood College’s Wingra Café receives Madison Food Safety Award

Madison, Wis. (Jan. 6, 2005) - Edgewood College’s Wingra Café has received the Madison Health Department’s 2004 Achievement Award for Food Safety. Of the city’s 1,000 licensed eateries, only 95 received this award. The department said the winners “do an outstanding job of ensuring food safety on a routine basis. They should be congratulated on their superior performance.” This is the second year the Wingra Café received this award.

Edgewood College President Daniel J. Carey said, “For most of us, the Wingra Café is primarily a fun place to eat and get together with friends. But for the students and staff who work there, it involves taking responsibility for the health of the whole campus community. This award shows they’re giving Edgewood College students some of the best quality service in Madison.”

Students who eat at the Wingra Café, like junior Brittany Buchanan, agree. “I enjoy eating at the café because it’s very convenient for me to grab something to eat during my classes and at lunch,” she said. “Not only is the food great, it’s also a great way for me to hang out with my friends.”

However, there’s much more to it than that for the manager of the Wingra Cafe, Bonnie Carpenter, who says the café is an “upscale snack bar.” In fact, the Madison Health Department categorizes the Wingra Café as a restaurant, not a fast food joint, because in addition to top sellers like chicken fingers, sandwiches, and soup, it also offers a variety of lunch specials.

Carpenter says, “All my students have a sense of pride working here. They all take it seriously.” Nichole Johnson, a junior who works at the Wingra Café, says, “I really enjoy working here and especially working at the grill. It’s a great place to get to know other students that normally I wouldn’t talk to.”

Carpenter and two other café managers, Jeri Jensen and Meghan Shoemaker, recently attended a two-day course to keep up with the latest information and procedures on food safety.

Other Madison Eateries

Next time you eat off campus, you might want to know about some other places that won the Health Department’s Food Safety Award. These establishments must be open for a year, have no foodborne illnesses for two years, have no referrals to the city attorney for health code violations, require no re-inspection this year, have no critical violations, meet a certain safety score, and, for restaurants, employ a certified food manager.

• Buffalo Wild Wings, 529 State St.

• Greenbush Bakery, 1305 Regent St.

• Milio’s Sandwiches (formerly Big Mike’s), 2145 Regent St.

• Noodles and Company, 7050 Mineral Point Rd.

• Old Chicago, 7202 Mineral Point Rd.

• Paisan’s, 80 University Sq.

• The Dardanelles, 1851 Monroe St.

• The Saz, 558 State St.

The full list of award-winning establishments is available at www.ci.madison.wi.us/health/envhealth/2004Achievementawards.pdf.

On the other hand, here are some places that were cited for health code violations:

• A8 China, 608 University Ave.

• Beijing Restaurant, 40 University Sq.

• City Bar and Restaurant, 636 State St.

• Delitalia, 7854 Mineral Point Rd.

• Essen Haus, 514 E. Wilson St.

• Ian’s, 319 N. Frances St.

• Luther’s Blues, 1401 University Ave.

• State Street Brats, 603 State St.

A list of establishments referred to the city attorney for health violations was published in The Capital Times on Jan. 8, 2005. See www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:2005:01:08:399671:FRONT.

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About Edgewood College

Edgewood College is Madison’s only independent liberal arts college, a Catholic school with 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers more than 40 academic and professional programs, including master’s degrees in business, education, nursing, and other fields, and a doctoral program in education leadership. For more information about Edgewood College, visit www.edgewood.edu or call 800-444-4861.

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