Outtakes New snack bar takes Heights cafeteria by storm

On August 31, students rushed into Cleveland Heights High School looking forward to a new year. There were a number of noticeable changes. The entrance looked better, the halls had been buffed, and there was something different in the lunch room: a room labeled “Outtakes,” with a relatively large sign, sat in the right corner of the cafeteria, its doors tightly closed.       

Nearly a month later, on September 29, Greg Krone also walked in the high school with intentions of starting something new, something special that had never been done before. On this day, Outtakes, the mysterious locked room, opened to students for the first time. Krone was one of the many people who helped make Outtakes a reality, and can be found standing at the entrance of the small store everyday of the week.

Long before this much anticipated day in September, the Board of Education teamed up with Chartwells’ Group to install Outtakes at Heights. The space students now view as a food haven was originally known as a snack line with basic beverages and chips; before that, a teacher’s lounge.

Outtakes serves hot meals (Yes, food that is actually warm!) at breakfast and lunch, and provides a large variety of healthier food choices—a better alternative to the pizza and burgers. Other branches of Outtakes can also be found in colleges and universities — one even can be found at Cleveland State University.

Students like the change. Sophomore Nichelle White notes, “I wouldn’t be eating lunch at school without it.” Kymeron Carter, also a sophomore, says, “It’s good. I really like the different options.” However, the prices have to be taken into consideration. Even though free and reduced lunch still apply to Outtakes, chips, cereal, parfaits, fruits, cookies, drinks, and other items cost extra money. Cash obviously does not keep many kids away. Lunch attendant Marline O’Neal acknowledged, “We really don’t hear any complaints other than the prices. But they complain and still come back for more everyday.”

Outtakes is still a work in progress. There are plans to include cappuccinos and make an online lunch account so that students do not have to worry about forgetting their lunch money. Sometime this school year, the small store will open for approximately half an hour after school for the students who participate in extracurricular activities. Krone added, “Tell us what you think so we can improve.”

Read More on The Black & Gold: Heights High
Volume 3, Issue 11, Posted 6:24 PM, 10.30.2010