Apple opens stunning new (and more private) Caffè Macs employee cafeteria in Cupertino

Photo via Foursquare

According to employee tweets and photos, Apple opened a stunning new Caffè Macs employee cafeteria at the corner of Bandley and Alves Dr. in Cupertino this past Tuesday. Located close to the company’s first campus building, Apple received approval to build at this location in early 2012, and after 2 years of work, the new cafeteria is complete.

Unlike Apple’s main employee cafeteria at their Infinite Loop complex, which visitors can enter if signed in by an Apple employee, this new cafeteria is off limits to anyone but Apple staff. In a 2012 interview with Apple’s Director of Real Estate Facilities Dan Whisenhunt, he explained that cafeteria would be a place where employees could talk freely about their work without fear of being eavesdropped upon. Caffè Macs Alves is located within walking distance of many other Apple offices in the surrounding area and on Bandley Dr.

The new cafeteria as seen under construction in January.

The building, which appears to be comprised primarily of glass, steel, and wood, fits right in with Apple’s recent retail stores, and is even somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s Campus 2 project. The cafeteria was designed by Foster + Partners, the same agency responsible for the Campus 2 project. The kitchen, espresso bar, and servery are all smaller versions of what is being planned for the new campus cafeteria, which will be eight times larger and span two floors. Apple plans to use this cafeteria as a test run of sorts, to better understand the layout and design of the upcoming kitchen.

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Aside from this new building and the main Infinite Loop campus cafeteria, Apple operates many other Caffè Macs locations, including one in Austin, TX, as well as several more around the Cupertino area.

Apple provided the following notice to employees:

On the corner of Alves and Bandley, Alves Caffè Macs features a smaller version of the servery, kitchen and central espresso bar that were designed for the new campus, as well as wonderful indoor and outdoor seating.
Among Alves Caffe Macs’ most distinctive elements are the beautiful high ceilings, stone walls, glass facade and terrazzo floors — all design signatures of Apple Campus 2. Foster + Partners are the architects behind both projects. “We wanted everyone to experience the feeling of the new campus now,” says Dan Whisenhunt, who leads Apple’s Real Estate and Development team. Alves Caffè Macs will enable the food service team to test the design and layout of the kitchen and serving areas in a smaller space; the kitchen on the new campus will be eight times larger and span two levels. The team is excited to start using new, state-of-the-art equipment at Alves Caffè Macs, some of which is being imported from Europe and deployed in the U.S. for the first time. “The equipment plays a big part in the execution of the food and this equipment is phenomenal — everything from a Danish coffee machine that is operated from the customer’s iPhone to an Italian double arm dough mixer for European style breads,” says Francesco Longoni, the head of the Food Services team. “The kitchen looks like a lab.” Like Apple Campus 2, Alves Caffè Macs has an environmentally friendly focus. It features a new, energy efficient compactor that will reduce trash volume by as much as 85% and compost everything possible. Alves Caffè Macs is a short walk or bike ride from all the buildings on Infinite Loop, Valley Green, Bandley and Mariani. In fact, it’s as close to DA3 as Caffe Macs at Infinite Loop is. There’s even underground parking and a lunchtime shuttle service. You’ll want to head over and get a glimpse of the future Apple dining experience.