Rise: Bauccio Commons

The Commons has provided a space for students, faculty, priests, and staff to dine since 1952. For many years, its function was typical of colleges across the nation — to sate the appetites of hungry crowds. Over the years, however, especially with the advent of Bon Appétit Management Company, came subtle yet substantive changes to the way food on campus was purchased, prepared, and presented. At the same time as food service grew in quality, though, so did the number of students on campus — from 795 residents in 1992 to 1,793 in 2010, pushing The Commons to capacity.

Today, space in Bauccio Commons is no longer an issue thanks to a generous gift from Fedele Bauccio '64, '66MBA — the founder and CEO of Bon Appétit Management Company who started his career in University of Portland's Commons when he was a student. The 2009 renovation added 14,000 square feet, but more important, changed the nature of the space. With the 2010 remodel, it is now designed not only for meals but also for meetings, study, conversations, quiet moments by the fireplace, sunny sojourns on the patios outside. Bauccio Commons is more than ever before a place for sociability and community.

This new design also means new opportunities to expand Bon Appétit's commitment to preparing food from scratch, using fresh and organic ingredients. Bauccio Commons today serves such savory pleasure as hand-tossed pizza with antibiotic-free meats, line-caught salmon grilled to order, hand-rolled sushi with sustainably caught seafood, locally sourced tortillas, and espresso.

The Commons was, for nearly 60 years, a friendly, echoing, populous cafeteria. Bauccio Commons, however, is far more than a cafeteria. It is a relaxed restaurant, a student union, a study hall, a village green; in a real sense it is a gently sacred space, where affection and respect shapes the food that energizes our students and brings them together for moments of sustenance and sociability.