News

Date: Friday, October 19, 2018
The GSC will be closed Tuesday, October 23 to Thursday, October 25 during the AFCSME strike. This means that events that meet regularly during these dates will not be available. Graduate students who have 24-hour access to the GSC can still access the building with their student IDs. If you have not been granted 24-hour access yet, please bring your student ID to the GSC on Monday during normal business hours.

For more information, please contact gscommon@ucsc.edu.

Date: Monday, June 13, 2016
LOCATIONS: SLUG / MERRILL / FACKLER SUB-STATIONS
AFFECTING CAMPUS-WIDE ALL UPPER CAMPUS FACILITIES

UTILITY AFFECTED: Electrical – primary utility power to main upper campus
SCHEDULED DATE: Wednesday, June 15, 2016 – start 02:00 PM/end 11:00 PM AND
Thursday June 16, 2016 – start 7:00 AM/end 7:00 PM

SCHEDULED TIME: Intermittent power outages – events lasting up to 40 minutes each

REASON: Programming & testing of co-generation plant turbine controls, primary power relays, breaker control systems to implement modifications that allow seamless power transfer to turbine in event of unplanned utility outage.

Intermittent service interruptions are expected during the testing window identified above. When service interruptions occur, emergency & standby generators will operate where present – please check with your facility manager. Interruptions may last for up to 40 minutes each and will be kept to as minimal duration as safely possible.

We ask all steps be taken to minimize risk, during service interruptions. The outages will vary by location, vary by duration, and vary by time of day. The outage will not affect the total campus or any one location for the total duration of the testing period.

At this time, we do not anticipate any further planned outages for this year.

Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2016
[Link to Original Article]
Cafe Ivéta is now open on the ground floor of the Graduate Student Commons building at Quarry Plaza.
First day of business was Friday, April 15 after several months of refurbishing and remodeling of the existing restaurant space. The cafe’s menu features breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, mint spritzers, and fresh squeezed orange juice with a focus on healthy, sustainable ingredients. Beers and wine service is expected soon.
Hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed on Sunday.
Cafe Ivéta offers two service counters. A main counter takes orders from the menu as well as beverage orders. A separate back bar counter provides drinks and pastries.
The restaurant space features new tables, refinished chairs, new signage, new custom cabinets, new counters, and new lighting.
In an effort to provide more sustainable infrastructure on campus, the Graduate Student Commons applied for and received Carbon Fund grants for energy efficient appliances and lighting. Graduate Student Commons building manager Rachel Neuman thanked the student Carbon Fund committee that approved $25,000 for energy efficient appliances and $7,500 for energy efficient LED lights and daylight harvesting lighting controls.
Cafe Ivéta’s owners said they are dedicated to supporting campus sustainability standards by using compostable and recyclable materials and buying local organic produce and sustainable meats. The cafe is established as an approved campus vendor in the UCSC Cruzbuy purchase system so campus organizations and units can coordinate catering via purchase orders.
The campus Cafe Ivéta is the second in Santa Cruz for the Bilanko family. John and Yvette Bilanko first opened Yvette’s Espresso Bar in 1991 in Barrington, Ill., a Chicago suburb. They also developed a wholesale business manufacturing and distributing scone, muffin, and biscuit mixes. In 1998, with two daughters attending UC Santa Cruz, they sold the café, kept the wholesale business, and moved to Santa Cruz.
In 2010, they opened Cafe Ivéta on Delaware Avenue where they continue making and distributing artisan baking mixes and also operate a catering business.
Bilanko said he wants the campus cafe to be “like what we do at our other place, be welcoming to the community.” His youngest daughter, Danielle, will manage the café, and they expect to hire up to 25 part-time student employees.
“Our goal is to make it a place on campus where people like to hang out,” he said.

Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2016
UTILITY POWER SERVICE INTERRUPTION NOTIFICATION

LOCATIONS: SLUG / MERRILL / FACKLER SUB-STATIONS
AFFECTING CAMPUS-WIDE ALL UPPER CAMPUS FACILITIES

UTILITY AFFECTED: Electrical – primary utility power to main upper campus

SCHEDULED DATE: Monday, March 21, 2016 – start 02:00 PM / end 11:00 PM

SCHEDULED TIME: Intermittent power outages – 5 to 8 events lasting up to 40 minutes each

REASON: Programming & testing of co-generation plant turbine controls, primary power relays, breaker control systems to inform modifications that allow seamless power transfer to turbine in event of unplanned utility outage.
Intermittent service interruptions are expected during the testing window identified above. When service interruptions occur, emergency & standby generators will operate. Interruptions may last for up to 40 minutes each and will be kept to as minimal a duration as safely possible.
We ask all steps be taken to minimize risk, during service interruptions.
See attached list of buildings affected.

REQUESTED BY: Rhonda Tramble – PP&C Senior Electrical Engineer

PHONE: 9-2733          CELL: 588-1779
TODAY’S DATE: 03/08/16

PLEASE NOTIFY ALL UNITS AND/OR DEPARTMENTS IN YOUR BUILDING OR AREA THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS UTILITY SHUTDOWN AND TEST. FOR ELECTRICAL SHUTDOWNS, BE SURE THAT ALL COMPUTER TERMINALS IN YOUR AREA ARE TURNED OFF BEFORE THE SCHEDULED TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.

FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS OR INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE “REQUESTER” OR THE PHYSICAL PLANT SERVICE CENTER WORK CONTROL DESK AT 459-4444.

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
[Link to Original Article]
SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz County lost 5,200 jobs in December due to seasonal shrinkage in agriculture, retail and local government but unemployment fell to 8.5 percent, down from 9.2 percent a year ago, according to a state report posted Friday.
The explanation is one data set is used to calculate the jobless rate while another is used tally jobs.
The last time December unemployment was this low was in 2007 — before the recession — when it was 7.3 percent, according to state labor analyst Jorge Villalobos.
Over the hill in Santa Clara County, where the tech boom is fueling job creation, unemployment is down to 3.1 percent.
Two statistics showing recovery is on track: The number of people unemployed declined to 11,700 last month from 12,700 in December 2014 and the jobless rate for 2015 was 7.4 percent, down from 8.7 percent in 2014.
However, there’s a job gap, with employment at 7.6 percent in the city of Santa Cruz and 10.9 percent in Watsonville.
The last month of the year, most sectors are either stable or shrink but manufacturing added 300 jobs compared to a year ago.
The count is taken as of the 12th of the month and includes part-time as well as full-time jobs.
Villalobos did not have detail to explain why the local government job loss was larger than usual.
One large employer in that sector, Cabrillo College, has been on winter break; the spring semester starts Monday.
Owners of Ivéta Gourmet are hiring 20 to 25 mostly part-time staff for the new location in the Graduate Student Commons at Quarry Plaza on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
The space is being renovated with daylight harvesting sensors and energy-efficient LED fixtures, supported by $25,000 from the UCSC Carbon Fund Committee.
The target opening is mid-February.
This is the second location for Cafe Ivéta, which has been operating on the Westside since 2010, part of a family enterprise that started in Chicago with an espresso bar and a wholesale business manufacturing scone, muffin and biscuit mixes.
Founder John Bilanko, 68, an attorney, was lured to Santa Cruz after helping daughters Lisa and Danielle move into their campus digs.
“We saw how beautiful it is,” Bilanko said.
Sixteen years ago, he and his wife Yvette moved west, selling the espresso bar to focus on the gourmet line.
With the campus seeking a local operator, he saw an opportunity for the cafe business to grow, won the bid and signed a four-and-one-half-year lease.
“It’s a high-traffic location without a major investment,” he said.
Daughter Danielle will manage the campus cafe; daughter Lisa manages the Westside cafe.
One trend Bilanko has seen is customers “want to know where their food comes from so they know they are getting quality.”
He will have free-range chicken and turkey and grass-fed beef on the menu at UCSC along with eggs, soups, salad bar and fish tacos. He hopes to obtain vegetables grown at UCSC’s 30-acre organic farm, cutting out the shipping middleman.
Retirement is not on his horizon.
“I really enjoy this, creating something,” he said.

Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2016
[Link to Original Article]
When Yvette and John Bilanko opened a tiny espresso bar in a Chicago suburb in 1991, their customers wanted more — “you have coffee, you need scones,” John remembers the customers suggesting. It was good timing, too. Yvette had just traveled to a trade show in the middle of winter and met three food science graduate students from the University of Illinois who had developed all-natural, easy to bake scone mixes.
The couple teamed up with the students, and started baking the scones at their shop. Most of their employees were high school and college students, and the mixes were simple enough for non-professional bakers. The scones were a hit.

Cafe Ivéta’s current location is hidden among industrial buildings near Natural Bridges. The cafe is also a warehouse where the company creates its famous pastry mixes for customers to purchase. Photo by Stephen de Ropp

Nearly a decade later, the Bilankos found themselves in a similar situation but on a different coast. After setting up Ivéta Gourmet in Santa Cruz, the family business was selling scone, muffin and biscuit mixes at a warehouse location. Even Oprah liked their scones, and Ivéta was featured on the “O List” in the premier issue of her magazine. But the customers wanted a place to sit and have a cup of coffee with their scone, prompting yet another question — “What do you have for lunch?”
The family signed a lease for their current location on Delaware Avenue in 2008. The new space provided a larger warehouse, and room for a cafe, something they hadn’t had since almost 20 years ago in Chicago. Cafe Ivéta focuses on “simple, fresh food, without pretense” to pair with its pastries and coffee. Its Westside location, although slightly hidden in the industrial area, is bustling.
It’s a feeling that will serve the family well as they plan their next business venture, Cafe Ivéta’s second location in the restaurant space under the Graduate Student Commons (GSC) in Quarry Plaza. Last month, GSC and John Bilanko agreed to a four-year, six-month lease for the on-campus space. The goal is set to be open this quarter, said GSC business and building manager Rachel Neuman.
The space has been empty since June, when Joe’s Pizzas and Subs requested a five-year lease extension and didn’t accept the governance board’s offer for a three-year extension. Joe’s had been the vendor for the GSC space since 2003.
“If we’re going to have a place on campus, I don’t want it to just be another dining hall experience or just another fast food experience,” John said. “I want the students to feel like this is their place.”
Cafe Ivéta’s menu will feature breakfast, lunch and dinner options, including sandwiches, soups and a salad bar, as well as beer, cider and wine options. Cafe Ivéta will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and closed Sunday. Neuman said the cafe meets all the criteria gathered from a campus-wide survey last year, which showed most student were interested in healthy meals for under $10.
Cafe Ivéta has been interested in moving on campus since 2012, when it was a finalist with Hoffman’s Bistro to move into the Global Village Cafe (GVC) in McHenry Library. This time around, John was already bidding on the GSC space when he heard that GVC was looking for a vendor again.
“It’s a good opportunity for us as a small family business because we don’t have the resources to compete with a Starbucks or Chipotle or something,” John said. “The university is making a big contribution in terms of the equipment and the space so it’s not costing us as much as if we were to go into an empty space downtown and start from scratch.”
GSC raised its initial budget for equipment and repairs from $95,000 to $225,000 during lease negotiations. Cafe Ivéta requested a 10-year lease while the governance board was aiming for a three-year term. They settled on a lease expiring at the end of the 2020 school year, with stipulations that the governance board fund major appliances and repairs, including a reach-in freezer, multiple refrigeration and oven units and a dishwasher.
“My goal is to help Cafe Ivéta succeed and be here for the long-term,” Rachel Neuman said. “It’s not just four and a half years, but it’s setting them up for success so that at the end of the lease term, the GSC can renew the lease terms.”
Neuman and the governance board look at the increased budget as an investment. Natasha Dudek, president of the board, said its finance committee is working on a long-term plan to allocate money back from its income to the plant reserve, or savings allocated for building maintenance.
With a focus on sustainability and energy-efficient appliances, the board was previously awarded $25,000 from the Carbon Fund, and have re-applied for about $50,000 of additional grants from the fund to subsidize the board’s increased costs. GSC is also looking to the Student Fee Advisory Committee as a funding source.
Through sustainable practices and student involvement John Bilanko strives to make his cafe part of the campus community, just like he’s done with the off-campus location. Whether that be collaborating with the art department to feature student artwork on the walls or with the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) Farm to source produce, he’s looking at different avenues to work with students and on-campus programs.
Crystal Owings, CASFS food equity and access specialist, works with a group of six students to meet the UC initiative goal to get all on-campus food vendors to 40 percent “real food” by 2020. Owings and the students will meet with Cafe Ivéta to discuss the possibility of on-campus food sourcing, just like other non-dining hall vendors like the Cowell and Stevenson cafes that receive produce from the Farm.
“It will be great to be able to connect with Cafe Ivéta, especially since it already sources a lot of organic and sustainable produce,” Owings said. “For CASFS to provide to vendors not even two or three miles away, it’s as close as you can get, right down the street, and a lot of students grow the produce, harvest it, clean it and even transport it.”
One of John’s four daughters, Danielle, will manage the on-campus location. She has worked for the family business for about 10 years, particularly for the transformation of the Ivéta Gourmet warehouse in Santa Cruz into a cafe-warehouse hybrid. Danielle said the cafe will be open by March 1, with the goal to possibly open its doors even sooner. John and Danielle are currently hiring students to work at the new location.
“From the very beginning of this process, GSC was very excited about receiving their proposal,” Rachel Neuman said. “There were some highly qualified top candidates, and in the end the vote for Cafe Ivéta was unanimous — everyone voted them in.”

Date:
Friday, January 8, 2016
[Link to Original Article]
The owners of Ivéta Gourmet, who run a popular café on Santa Cruz’s west side, will open a café in the Graduate Student Commons building at Quarry Plaza on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
Renovations of the space formerly occupied by Joe’s Pizza and Subs have begun and new equipment is on order. Opening is anticipated in mid-February, said Ivéta owner John Bilanko.
The menu will feature fresh, organic ingredients. “The whole goal is to keep it fresh, keep it simple, and keep it fast,” Bilanko said. Menu items will include eggs, freshly baked pastries, homemade soups, salad bar, fish tacos, free-range chicken and turkey, and grass-fed beef. The café will feature a full espresso bar and sustainable coffee, also craft beers and wine.
The campus café will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and feature breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Saturday hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The café will be initially closed Sundays, Bilanko said.
Café Ivéta and the Graduate Student Commons have signed a 4 1/2-year lease. The GSC’s goal is to have the restaurant be more sustainable, by reducing green house gas emissions with new energy-efficient commercial appliances and new LED lighting with daylight harvesting sensors, said Rachel Neuman, GSC business and building manager.
The UCSC Carbon Fund Committee has awarded the GSC $25,000 toward new energy efficient equipment and the GSC is applying for additional grants from the Carbon Fund Grant and the Student Fee Advisory Committee to help cover lighting costs and additional cost for energy-efficient appliances.
“We expect to exceed the university’s sustainability goals right from the get go,” Bilanko said. He also hopes to source campus-grown produce from the university farm.
Neuman said the kitchen will have a new look and feel. The existing yellow and black tiles were refinished and are now white. Plans are in place to design and install new cabinetry. “It’s our hope to provide a nice, clean and comfortable look that ties in nicely with Café Ivéta’s theme,” she said.
John and Yvette Bilanko first opened Yvette’s Espresso Bar in 1991 in Barrington, Ill., a Chicago suburb. They also developed a wholesale business manufacturing and distributing scone, muffin, and biscuit mixes. In 1998, with two daughters attending UC Santa Cruz, they sold the café, kept the wholesale business, and moved to Santa Cruz.
In 2010, they opened Café Ivéta on Delaware Avenue where they continue making and distributing artisan baking mixes and also operate a catering business.
Bilanko said he wants the campus café to be “like what we do at our other place, be welcoming to the community.” His youngest daughter, Danielle, will manage the café, and they expect to hire up to 25 part-time student employees.
“Our goal is to make it a place on campus where people like to hang out,” he said.
Neuman thanked the many university units that have come together to create the new restaurant. “It’s been extremely rewarding to see the GSC kitchen retrofit projects moving along seamlessly while working with incredible colleagues across the campus,” she said, calling out the real estate office, procurement office, GSC committee members who served on the restaurant selection committee, project manager Joshua Francis in Physical Planning and Construction, and numerous staff in Physical Plant who have supported the project.

Date: Monday, October 5, 2015
[Link to Original Article]
The search for a new vendor in the Quarry Plaza restaurant space under the Graduate Student Commons (GSC) is narrowing down. GSC business and building manager Rachel Neuman said the commons aimed to have a vendor selected last March and operating by the fall, but after unforeseen obstacles their governance board now aims to have a new vendor agreed to a contract this quarter.
“We are definitely a bit behind schedule,” Neuman said. “We were required to have a building committee to really evaluate the space, and we had to hire a kitchen consultant to advise on what type of vendor would be suitable for the space.”
Neuman said Joe’s Pizzas and Subs had requested a five-year lease extension and didn’t accept the governance board’s offer for a three-year extension. Joe’s, which had been operating in the building since 2003, left the Quarry Plaza when their lease ended last June and the space has been vacant ever since.
Last October, an undergraduate-wide survey found that students favored healthy food options — soups, salads, sandwiches ­— with a preference for organic and hormone-free meals at a price point of around $10. Neuman said the survey results are prioritized in the commons’ search for a new vendor who will fit the needs of the students and the space.
The commons sent out 35 “request for interest” letters over the summer to potential local vendors, and a selection committee narrowed it down to 10 finalists based on interest, price, type of food, finances, experience, commitment to environmental sustainability, renovation and equipment needs, among other criteria.
“The Quarry Plaza is a marquee location and we want to find a tenant who can really meet that mark,” Neuman said.
The kitchen underwent maintenance and cleaning upgrades this summer. Joshua Francis, associate architect at Physical Planning and Construction, said the current condition of the restaurant is excellent and is ready to move into the “kitchen equipment coordination phase,” for energy-efficient equipment to be installed. The UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which helps fund projects supporting carbon neutrality, awarded $25,000 to the commons for energy-efficient appliances.
All other funds for this project are from the Graduate Student Facilities Fee. The current project budget for facility repairs and new equipment is estimated at $95,000.
The vendor list is narrowed down to five local restaurants who the governance board’s voting members consisting of 16 graduate students will vote on their final recommendation this quarter. Neuman said the board expects to earn about $12,000 this year from the new restaurant’s lease, which includes the last three months of no revenue from a vendor lease.

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2015
LOCATION: Grad Student Commons
UTILITY TO BE SHUT DOWN: Domestic Cold Water (DCW)

SCHEDULED DATE: Wednesday, September 23, 2015

SCHEDULED TIME: 07:00 AM – 09:00 AM

REASON: Replace leaking isolation valve in mechanical room

REQUESTED BY:
Mike Dolder – PP WM Project Manager
Larry Montano – Montano Plumbing
PHONE: 92754 CELL: 212-0262 / 212-5461

TODAY’S DATE: 09/21/15 PLEASE NOTIFY ALL UNITS AND/OR DEPARTMENTS IN YOUR BUILDING OR AREA THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS UTILITY SHUTDOWN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS OR INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE “REQUESTER” OR THE PHYSICAL PLANT SERVICE CENTER WORK CONTROL DESK AT 459-4444.

Date: Sunday, July 12, 2015
The selection process is under way for a new restaurant in the Graduate Student Commons building at Quarry Plaza at the UC Santa Cruz campus. Joe’s Pizzas and Subs, which operated there since 2003, departed at the end of the academic year when its contract was up.
A survey of customers found they favor healthy fare, with soups, salads, sandwiches, plus espresso and coffee drinks.
About 10 potential vendors responded to a request for information, and a search committee is expected to meet Monday to whittle the list to a handful, according to Rachel Neuman, business and building manager for the commons. These vendors will be invited to submit detailed proposals listing business vision, menu selections, experience and financials.
Neuman said the committee hopes to have a new operator in place by the beginning of fall quarter.
Last month, crews began cleaning the space, painting, repairing refrigeration, and replacing some appliances. The successful bidder will have the opportunity to specify additional equipment as part of negotiations.
Top potential vendors will be able to tour the space before requests for proposals are due Aug. 5.

Details: rneuman@ucsc.edu or 459-1395
[Original Article]

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2015
Healthy fare, with soups, salads, sandwiches, and espresso – especially espresso and coffee drinks – are the preferred options from a survey of customers last year for a new restaurant in the Graduate Student Commons building at Quarry Plaza.
The Graduate Commons governance board announced in October that the contract for Joe’s Pizza and Subs, which had operated at the location since 2003, was up at the end of the academic year and that it would seek a new operator. Requests for Interest (RFIs) were sent today to 35 potential restaurant operators with a deadline of July 2 to respond.
A restaurant subcommittee will whittle the list to a handful, said Rachel Neuman, business and building manager for the commons. Those potential vendors will be invited to submit proposals with more details – a business vision, menu selections, experience, and financials. Neuman said the committee hopes to have a new operator in place by the beginning of fall quarter.
Crews are already deep cleaning the space, painting, repairing refrigeration, and replacing some appliances, Neuman said. The successful bidder will also have the opportunity to specify additional equipment as part of negotiations.
Top potential vendors will be able to tour the space in about a month. Requests for proposals are due August 5. Interested parties may contact Neuman at rneuman@ucsc.edu or 459-1395.
[Original Article]

Date: Monday, October 13, 2014
The Graduate Student Commons is starting the process of looking for a new restaurant vendor for the first floor of our building in the Quarry Plaza. The space is currently occupied by Joe’s Pizza and Subs, whose contract ends at the end of the academic year.

When selecting a future vendor, we want to take into account the needs of the UC Santa Cruz Community. We would love to get your feedback through a short survey. Click on the following link to find the SURVEY.

Deadline to complete the survey is 8 a.m. Monday, October 27, 2014.

Date: Monday, October 6, 2014
The Graduate Student Commons Fall 2014 flyer is available! You can download it here:
The Graduate Student Commons Fall 2014 Flyer.pdf

Date: Monday, March 31, 2014
Author: Spring 2014
The Graduate Student Commons Spring 2014 Flyer is available! You can download it here:
The Graduate Student Commons Spring 2014 Flyer

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013
We are happy to announce our GSC Board Voting Members for the Fall 2013 quarter!

• Arts – Lisa
• Humanities – none =(
• Engineering – Rob, Sean
• PBSci – Alex, Tash
• Social Sciences – Ariana, Erik, Lizzy
• Vice President – Walter Adams
• President – Katie Hamren

Date: Thursday, September 26, 2013
We are happy to announce Yoga, Hiking, and Knitting and Crafting at the GSC.

Yoga with Aura will take place on Wednesdays from 11:30 -12:30 at the GSC
Hiking with Kimball will take place on Thursdays from 12:00 – 1:00 meeting at the GSC
Graduate Student Knitting and Crafting Club will meet in the GSC Fireside Lounge from 5:30 – 7:30 on Mondays.
For more up-to-date information and to see all of our events for the Fall 2013 quarter, check out our calendar.