Places to eat during the academic year*:

*Meal plans are developed based on the costs for the contracted University food service provider, Bon Appetit.  WesWings, Red & Black Cafe, Cafe at RJ Julia, Star & Crescent and Espwesso are independent contractors who DO NOT follow the same price points. Students should utilize their meal plan points at these locations sparingly.

Usdan Marketplace

Located on the second floor of Usdan. Meal swipe, points, middletown cash, credit card accepted. Diners cannot swipe, eat, leave and come back within the same meal and eat again on the original swipe. If you leave the facility and come back, you would have to pay for a second meal.  Personal containers (ex. tupperware) are not permitted.
Hours: M-F Breakfast 8am-10:30am, Lunch 11am-2pm, Dinner 5-8pm, Sat.-Sun. Brunch 11am-2pm, Dinner 5-8pm. 

Prices for Marketplace: A meal swipe per meal period or Breakfast - $6.50; Lunch/Brunch - $9.50; Dinner - $11 

Daniel Family Commons

The Daniel Family Commons, located on the third floor of the Usdan University Center offers a spacious dining area with windows along two walls.  This space is a faculty/staff dining space.
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 11:30am - 1:30pm; Middletown cash and credit accepted; the cost for lunch is $12.00

DFC Dining policies:

The following are the reservation and dining policies at the Daniel Family Commons.  These have been formulated so everyone can have the best possible experience:

 -Reservations for the Daniel Family Commons (DFC) should be made by emailing: dfcreservations@wesleyan.edu at least two business days in advance but not more than two weeks in advance. Students may not make reservations for the DFC.

-Reservations for larger groups (6+) will only be considered for special holiday lunches and other rare occasions in consultation with the Director of Auxiliary Services and only once a cost center has been provided to confirm the the reservation.

 -Table capacity is 6 max so reservations should be planned accordingly. Furniture will not be moved to accommodate larger groups as this affects the rest of the dining period and patrons. Table movement also impacts the fire safety of the space so please understand when we cannot accomodate table movement reqeusts.

 - departments may not reserve more than one table per day so that all guests may be accomodated.

-If you must cancel a reservation, please do so no later than 10am on the day of your reservation so that others may access the held table. Cancellations should be sent to the same email as reservations.

-The Faculty/Staff-Student program is one where faculty are encouraged to bring up to 3 students with them to continue conversations from class/committee work.  The host faculty/staff member must be present with the students for the meal and they must arrive together. 

New in FY 26:

Beginning for the Fall 2025 semester, each faculty and staff member will receive six (6) meal swipes on their WesID card.  These swipes can be used for:  

  • Lunch in the Daniel Family Commons (DFC),  
  • Breakfast, lunch or dinner in the Usdan Marketplace, or 
  • Lunch at the Wesleyan Food Truck  

In addition, each faculty and staff member will receive nine (9) guest meal passes on their WesID card.  These passes can be used to provide lunch for up to three students per meal period in the DFC, the Usdan Marketplace or the Food Truck.  

This program is designed to encourage informal, yet meaningful, interactions with colleagues and students while sharing a meal.  When dining with colleagues, we hope you use this opportunity to connect with others—perhaps even with those you do not know well.  

Please note:  

  • Unused meal or guest passes do not carry forward to the next semester. 
  • Meals may include up to three students using the 9 guest passes noted above.  Groups larger than this should plan to eat at Usdan Marketplace. If more than three guests are present, the department Expense Card must be used for the additional meals. 
  • The DFC is a designated space for faculty and staff interaction.  When dining with students, faculty and staff hosts should remain with their guests at all times. 
  • Reservations for groups (up to 6 people) can still be made using credit, Middletown Cash, or university expense cards.  
  • Please remember that student meal plans are not accepted at the DFC. 

  
The program begins Monday, September 8th, 2025.  When arriving at the DFC, Marketplace or the Food Truck, simply inform the cashier you are using the Faculty/Staff lunch program and swipe your WesID card.  If you are bringing students as guests, inform the cashier you are also using guest swipes.    

If you have any questions about the program or how to access your swipes, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  

Below are a few sample scenarios illustrating how to use the Faculty and Staff Meal Program. 

Example 1: Two Faculty Members Dining Together 

Scenario:  Two faculty members plan to have lunch in the DFC. How it works: 

  • Each faculty member swipes their own WesID card for one meal swipe. 
  • No guest passes are needed since both are eligible faculty participants 

Example 2: Staff Member Dining with Three Students

Scenario:  A staff member invites three students to lunch in the DFC. How it works: 

  • The staff member informs the cashier at the DFC they are using one meal swipe and three guest passes 
  • No additional funding is needed 

Example 3:  Staff Member Dining with Six Students 

Scenario:  A staff member plans to dine with six students in the DFC. How it works: 

  • Since the DFC is really designated as a faculty and staff dining room, groups of more than 3 students should choose to eat at the Marketplace or the Food Truck. 
  • When arriving at Marketplace or the Food Truck, the staff member informs the cashier they are using one meal swipe and three guest passes. (Please note, reservations for these locations are not available)
  • Additional funding is needed to cover the additional three students.  This additional funding can be a departmental expense card, Middletown Cash, or other approved funding. 

 

Summerfields

Located in Butterfield C. Meal swipe, points, middletown cash, credit card accepted.
Hours: M-F 11am-9:00pm; Late Night (daily) 9:30pm-1am; Sat-Sun Dinner 5:30-9pm, late night 9:30pm-1am.  Ordering at Summerfields should be done with the Wes2Go app.  

In addition, Late night at Summies may close early if the space is at capacity and/or if the number of orders will exceed the amount of time the team has to prepare and serve food.  All orders should be placed no later than 12:30am to insure service by 1am, however, if the number of orders already in by that time exceeds the ability to serve by 1am you may be turned away.

Usdan Cafe

This a la carte café features a variety of grab-and-go salads, sandwiches, coffees and specialty beverages. Points, middletown cash, credit card accepted.  Meal swipe equivalency available: M-F Breakfast 8am - 10am; Lunch 11am - 2pm. The Cafe is closed on weekends*.

*On certain weekends (homecoming/family weekend, finals weekend) the cafe will run spceial hours.


Hours: Open Mon.- Fri. 8am - 8pm; Sat. - Sun. 10am - 8pm 

Pi Cafe

Located in the Exley Science Center lobby; features Pierce Brothers Coffee and other specialty drinks.  Points, middletown cash, credit card accepted.  Meal swipe equivalency available: M-F Breakfast 8am - 10:30am; Lunch 11am - 2pm; S-S Brunch 11am - 1pm.

Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 8am - 10pm, Fri. 8am - 5pm, Sat. 12pm - 6pm, Sun. 12pm - 10pm

Weshop Essentials

Wesleyan's own mini market provides a large inventory of premier national, regional and local brands, ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat organic, Halal and Kosher selections, bulk food items such as nuts, grains, legumes, coffees, rice, flour and more. Items in WesShop are provided by local companies such as Ronnybrook Farms so that the quality is of a higher caliber than a regular grocery store. Weshop is a convenient store and therefore cannot compete with larger grocery stores prices such as Price Chopper. WesShop is for the essentials and quick pick up items. points should still be primarily used at the traditional dining locations on campus for the bulk of your dining needs.  Points, credit card, Middletown cash accepted. Meal swipe equivalency (lunch M-Th), points, middletown cash, credit card accepted.

Cardinal Cafe

A cafe located within Freeman Athletic Center with an assortment of Smoothies for your enjoyment!  Meal swipe equivalency (Breakfast and lunch), points, middletown cash, credit card accepted.

Hours: Mon - Fri. 8am - 8pm, Closed on weekends

The Wesleyan Food Truck

Bon Appetit oversees the Univeristy Food Truck which is typically located on the Huss Courtyard near North College when weather permits.  Meal plan, Middletown cash and credit Accepted.

Hours: Weather dependent

Catering

Utilizing Bon Appetit for your on campus event is strongly encouraged but not required.  Utilizing Bon Appetit allows the sponsoring department to bill directly to the department smartkey, avoids traveling to pick up food and having to provide all the plates, napkins, etc.!  If you decide to utilize Bon Appetit, the sponsoring department should always confirm their room reservation before contacting Bon Appetit catering.  You may contact Bon Appetit to review catering options after you have a room confirmation.

Please note that if you select Bon Appetit to cater your event, you may not have a secondary caterer from off campus for liability reasons.  

If you elect to work with an outside caterer you should first contact Michelle Myers-Brown, Director, University Auxiliary Services (mmyersbrown@wesleyan.edu) who can walk you through that process as there are separate licenses and insurance requirements that must be obtained before the caterer will be allowed in campus.  The City of Middletown requires any caterer coming to campus to have a recent health inspection, proof of insurance with the University listed as an additional insured and, if your event will include any general public, a one time city permit that the caterer must obtain.  Copies of all required forms must be filed with the Director of Auxiliary Services at least ten business days prior to the event.

Contracted Food Trucks

If you would like a food truck at your event and the Wesleyan Food Truck is not available, the following steps must be followed to determine if your event can invite an off campus truck to your event:

-A written request must be submitted through email to the Director of Auxiliary Services at least three weeks prior to the event date with all pertinent information (Space reservation number, anticipated number of attendees).  Email dining@wesleyan.edu.

-Event organizers must be members of the University community and must provide a university smartkey that will be charged if there are any damages. No other form of payment is acceptable. 

-Select a truck from the approved list of Food Trucks provided to you by the Director of Auxiliary Services; only trucks from list will be approved to be on campus. There is a list of eight approved food trucks who are licensed to operate within the City of Middletown.  You will be provided with this list once you make the initial contact with the Director of Auxiliary Services.

-Contact the approved truck and make arrangements

-Circle back to the Director of Auxiliary Services with the Food Truck information, which will then be added to your EMS reservation.  Information included: recent health inspection report, proof of insurance, copy of city of Middletown permit.

-It is highly recommended that trucks place plywood under their vehicle to insure no leaks occur on University Property.   

-The University cannot stop other food trucks from parking on city streets if they are in legal spaces and have the appropriate city permit.

-When considering whether or not food trucks may be a viable option for an event, departments and student organizations should consider that food trucks can only take cash or credit.  They do not take meal plan points or middletown cash. This may mean that members of our community may not be able to fully participate in an event if they do not have the means to purchase food from the truck. 

 

 

Dining Options not managed by Bon Appetit: (prices and policies at these locations are not managed by Wesleyan University)