CULTURE
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
The Villanovan | 7
CULTURE
Rosie’s Coffee at Villanova Station: A Hidden Gem Grant Carter Co-Culture Editor Anyone who has ever undertaken the long trek between West Campus to Main, or vice versa, has undoubtedly noticed, settled along the train tracks, a well-established institution of Villanovan life: Rosie’s Coffee at Villanova Station. Despite some changes in management over the years, this nook on campus — popularly known as Rosie’s — has been a frequent stop for students and SEPTA commuters alike for more than two years. As some more seasoned residents of Villanova’s campus might recall, the train station — a registered historical site of Pennsylvania — has long been fitted as a coffee shop. It was formerly known as Rosie’s Mug and has long shared the space with the local SEPTA office. In early 2018, it underwent a change of management that ultimately conceived the Rosie’s that students know and love today. The story of how it came to be is remarkably fitting and rather representative of the ingenuity and creativity of its owner. Some time during that spring semester, University employee Brian Galloway was strolling through campus when he noticed that space in the old train station building was up for sale. Galloway told his wife immediately, as it was an opportunity almost too good to be true. At the time, the couple’s youngest child
(whose middle name, ironically, is Rose) had just turned 18 months, and Galloway’s wife, Deanna, was looking for a departure from her teaching career that still allowed her to be around young people in some way. The opportunity was ripe, although not spontaneous. It was a sentimental pursuit in some sense. Deanna Galloway grew up in Montgomery County, never living more than a mile from a train station, one of which housed her favorite coffee spot. Her first job in high school was also at a Starbucks in a Barnes & Noble, although it was not until she had kids that coffee became a “necessity.” All along, however, the idea of opening her own place had been looming in her mind. The location was just as perfect. Besides already being fitted as a coffee shop, it is also uniquely situated along the tracks so that it is on campus, although not technically owned by the University itself, allowing her some additional autonomy in promoting and expanding the business. The unique location also makes Rosie’s the only independent business to operate at the University. With the start of the new term that August, after months of hard work and ingenuity, Rosie’s was officially opened to University students and passerbys alike. It was completely refurbished, adorned with a new logo and operated by its first staff of student employees. It has since become central to campus life,
as it has to Galloway herself. Any patron of Rosie’s knows that Galloway’s positivity is as inevitable as the sounds of delicious coffee and smoothies being prepared. She is keen to talk with her customers, particularly the students, and is known by her employees for her acute memory for names and faces. Although the people are her “favorite part of the job,” Galloway also takes great pride in knowing that she can provide a healthy alternative for University students to most locations on campus. The menu is designed to fit the needs of any diet, with plenty of options, shifting by the month. Despite Rosie’s variety, Galloway herself sticks to the basics: an iced almond milk latte or an occasional banana bowl with Nutella and granola. Many customers who stop in between classes even have distinct custom orders, some of which have even made it onto the menu itself. With the onset of COVID-19, which sent home all University students last March, Galloway has gotten even more creative with ways to drum up business. “When we first bought the business, we discussed a lot of scenarios that could happen to affect it,” Galloway said. “We’ve encountered a few of those possibilities, but nothing has ever come close to this.” The return to an abnormal campus life this fall has forced some new regulations within Rosie’s to comply with local and state standards, and
staff is notably dedicated to ensure it remains as safe a space as possible. The business might be back, but it is certainly not the same. Consider stopping by to support this small business, even if it might be well out of the way of your normal route through campus. One visit is all it takes to realize how Rosie’s has continued to weather the storm, and how it has remained a staple of Villanova life to this day.
Rosie’s owner, Deanna Galloway Courtesy of Grant Carter
Foreign Foodies: Two Univeristy Students Review Food and Restaurants in Philadelphia and Beyond A.J. Fezza Co-Culture Editor
Tortolo (left) and Bohrt (right) celebrate 6,000 Instagram followers. Courtesy of @foreign_foodies_
Whether it is singing, acting or fashion, University students are known to show off their talents on social media. One of these areas is cooking. School of Business junior Julia Tortolo and School of Business senior Rodrigo Bohrt are an upperclassman couple that loves to eat, cook and review restaurants in the Philadelphia area and around the world. They post their recipes and reviews on the Instagram account @foreign_foodies_, which has more than 6,400 followers as of Sept. 7. The two recounted their experience starting the account with each other back in January. “We never ran any food accounts before Foreign Foodies,” Tortolo said. “When we started dating, we realized we both love to try new restaurants and enjoy eating a variety of meals. As we started to explore restaurants in the area and posting about them on our personal accounts, our friends started asking us for recommendations on places to eat. We then came up with the idea of creating a food account to share our food experiences with everyone.” Tortolo studies Marketing, and Bohrt studies Management and Analytics. They have already been able to collaborate with over 25 businesses
to promote products to their audience on their Instagram account. Most reviews are local, covering restaurants like Enoteca Tredici in Bryn Mawr and Terrain Cafe in Devon. However, the couple has also covered restaurants as far as New York City, London and Brazil, where Tortolo is from. Whenever they travel abroad, they try to eat the traditional cuisine of the region. In Brazil, they enjoyed Brazilian meat barbecue and ate fresh fish by the seaside. “Our main goal, when we started our food account, was to post restaurant reviews, but now it’s much more than that,” Bohrt said. “We want to promote a balanced lifestyle to our followers. We want to show people that you can be healthy and still enjoy every kind of food including some high carbohydrate desserts. From salads to milkshakes, people should enjoy everything they eat. When you eat good, you feel good.” They love running the account and plan on keeping it active as long as possible, even after they both graduate. For the time being, they plan to remain solely on Instagram, since they enjoyr the way Instagram lets them engage with followers and be creative with content. Make sure to check out their account for plenty of recipes, reviews and new places to try.
