Global Crossroads

Kasugai Frutia gummies from Japan. Chatak masala-flavored potato chips from India. Loux lemon juice drink from Greece. UB students can find these snacks sourced from around the globe and more at One World Café, the university’s new international-themed eatery.

Situated at one of the busiest crossroads on the North Campus, the three-story dining space serves as the new front door of the university for tens of thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors. Reflective of UB’s diverse community—which includes more than 5,000 international students from over 90 countries—One World Café features five food stations that serve authentically prepared dishes from around the globe. The stations range from Kali Orexi (“Good Appetite” in Greek), a kitchen serving Mediterranean fare, to the Tikka Table, a restaurant offering dishes from the different regions of India. 

Generous donor support is evident throughout the space, which includes a donor wall recognizing those whose contributions helped make One World Café a reality. Among the names is Karen Gerhardt, AS ’64, who in honor of her late husband and their deep connection to UB, made a $250,000 gift. As a tribute, the dining room in the University Club is named the Karen and Lester Gerhardt Dining Room. 

“My husband felt it was important for students, faculty and others to be able to socialize and communicate in a less structured setting. The students were important to Les, so it seemed the most appropriate place to have his name.” 

Ming Chen Deng, an international student studying business administration who was born in Venezuela and grew up in Curaçao, is among the many people who were excited about the opening of One World Café last spring. “Architecturally, it’s great; it’s beautiful...And it’s never empty,” says Deng. Nicandra Soto, a senior of Dominican descent from Spain studying political science and criminology, dined at One World Café three times during opening week.

“One World Café is a direct result of students saying we want more space to come together as a community and we want more and different dining options to partake in. The university came together to deliver that for students,” says Brian Hamluk, vice president for student life. He adds that students were involved in every step of the dining center’s creation, from helping design the space and sampling menus to choosing the name. 

One World Café is more than just a series of restaurants, though. Seating more than 800 people, the space is also a gathering place for studying and socializing. The dining center is already a new favorite meeting spot for many students, says Deng.

“Even before the food service started, the place was packed with students coming together for group meetings and sitting in front of the fireplace,” says Hamluk. “Everything we had planned throughout this project, we saw become a reality the first day that it was available to students.”