Jerry’s Café, the new College of Industrial and Labor Relations café opening in King Shaw Hall in Spring 2027, released their menu at a tasting session hosted by Cornell Dining on March 11.
The proposed menu will have breakfast and lunch options, including sandwiches, soups and salads, and will be the first café to offer breakfast sandwiches made with biscuits.
The tasting session was led by the Director of Cornell Dining Paul Muscente and brought together ILR staff and student leaders to taste items on the proposed menu for Jerry’s Café. The session, held at the Robert Purcell Community Center, was attended by Kara Lombardi, ILR assistant dean for student experience and wellbeing, Dean of ILR Alexander Colvin and members from the ILR Student Government Association, among others.
The café is named in honor of the late Gerald L. Dorf ’57, recognizing his lifelong connection to Cornell and legacy within the ILR School. Construction of the café was made possible by a “generous gift” from the Dorf family, though the amount has not been made public.
Dorf, a member of the ROTC program, worked multiple jobs during his time at Cornell, from the ILR library stacks to waiting on tables and selling souvenirs at football games. Beyond his academic years, he played a pivotal role in strengthening the ILR community by helping found the ILR Alumni Association and serving as its first president.
“Having an ILR student commons and a café is something that would have made him happy,” Evelyn Dorf, Gerald Dorf’s wife, wrote in a statement to the ILR School. “The café is the kind of place Jerry would have loved to be able to sit down, relax, have a cup of coffee and enjoy some camaraderie with people that he loved going to school with.”
At the tasting session, students and staff were able to try a variety of these items.
For breakfast, the proposed menu includes items like “The Bacon or Sausage Morning Standard” — composed of an egg, house-cooked bacon or sausage and cheese served hot on a flaky biscuit or bagel — and “The Morning Lox”, which consists of smoked salmon, cream cheese and freshly-sliced cucumber on a toasted bagel.
For lunch, options include “The Bronx Chopped Cheese” — made up of seared beef and cheddar on a hoagie with onions, lettuce and tomato — and “The Roasted Portabella Chicken Melt”, composed of roasted chicken, balsamic mushrooms, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and roasted garlic aioli on ciabatta. Another available option is “The Crispy Classic” — breaded chicken breast, mayo, lettuce and tomato on toasted ciabatta.
Alexander Colvin Ph.D. ’99, the Kenneth F. Kahn '69 dean and the Martin F. Scheinman '75, M.S. '76 professor of conflict resolution at ILR, was involved with the process of planning and tasting the café’s menu.
“The menu items are developed by the Cornell Dining chefs,” Colvin wrote in a statement to The Sun. “It includes items that they have offered at cafés around campus and have proven popular with students, faculty and staff.”
The tasting session gauged student opinions on the proposed menu, and Colvin said the feedback students gave will be used to help finalize the menu for opening day.
Marco Martini ’27, president of the ILR SGA, was one of the students present during the tasting session.
Martini told The Sun he is excited by the proposed menu items, including the breakfast sandwiches, and is particularly looking forward to the portabella chicken sandwich and chicken pesto salad.
Although there are numerous cafés on campus, this will be the first within ILR’s courtyard, and Martini said he believes this will foster community amongst ILR students.
“I think most ILR students usually go to Trillium or Mac’s and nearby cafés,” Martini said. “Having a café at your own school is a lot more convenient, so I think it'll be a bigger hangout [and] socialization spot.”
With nearly a year until the café opens, Martini said the menu is not set in stone.
“It's not expected to open up until January of 2027, so we're talking nearly almost a full year from now, so it's subject to changes,” Martini said. “But for now, [Cornell Dining] seem pretty confident with bringing those items into the café at ILR.”
Additionally, the café’s hours of operation have not yet been determined. The hours of operation will likely be provided closer to the time of the café’s opening.
Once opened, Jerry’s Café will bring the total number of cafés on campus to 16.
“It's definitely been a long process, and they put a lot of thought into this,” Martini said. “So definitely, as soon as the doors open, definitely check it out and support your school's café.”
Michael Ferreira is a member of the Class of 2028 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at mferreira@cornellsun.com.
