Redesigned Apple Pie Bakery Café Reopens At CIA

HYDE PARK, NY — Eighteen years after it originally opened, The Culinary Institute of America's Apple Pie Bakery Café reopened Tuesday in a redesigned space with a menu that features classic café favorites and new sweet and savory selections. The CIA turned to hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany to reimagine the café for the next generation of students and the local community.

Since its opening, Apple Pie Bakery Café has been one of the CIA's most popular restaurants, prized by local residents and visitors alike for its fantastic food, breads, pastries, cakes, pies and casual atmosphere, according to a spokesman. By 2017, the café was serving two to three times the number of guests initially anticipated.

As part of the renovations, the café's kitchen and service lines were expanded to better accommodate guests. From a design standpoint, the dark wood and wall coverings were replaced by cream and shades of soft green, creating a bright, open space.

In addition, the brick wall facing the courtyard has been painted white to complement the natural light coming through large arched windows.

Classic brasserie-style decorative floor tiles set the tone for a relaxed, welcoming environment, while modular chandeliers and circular sconces illuminate the space throughout.

The new layout includes a separate dining area with table service, along with an expanded and easier-to-navigate separate take-out and grab & go section.

The staff at the Apple Pie Bakery Café — both front- and back-of-house — are CIA students, in the final weeks of their associate degree studies in baking and pastry arts.

The new café provides them with a hands-on opportunity to achieve the highest levels of excellence in cooking, baking, and service.

"As the world's premier culinary college, education is at the core of everything we do," said Chef Waldy Malouf, the CIA's senior director of food and beverage operations. "The renovated and expanded Apple Pie Bakery Café improves the educational experience we provide to our students."

The Apple Pie Bakery Café Take Out Area is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with seating available from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Table Service is offered Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The CIA has a no-tipping policy because students are not employees. It does add a 17 percent service charge on each check, which is returned to the students through scholarships, support of student activities and the purchase of graduation jackets.

For more information and to view the menu, visit www.applepiebakerycafe.com.

Photo caption: A new look and new menu for the redesigned Apple Pie Bakery Café, which reopened on the Hyde Park campus of The Culinary Institute of America on January 16, 2018. Photo credit: CIA/Phil Mansfield.