Ernie Nieves has been selling food for years, operating a fleet of food trucks that operate across Connecticut. But his latest venture is firmly rooted in the lobby of UCONN Stamford’s main campus building.
Dubbed Slider’s Café, the location is the first new dining option offered on the UCONN campus since the start of the Covid pandemic saw the closure of previous offerings.
“One of the top priorities for this campus has always been food safety and access to food,” said Mohammed Ruwaid, the student body president for UCONN’s Stamford campus at the café’s ribbon cutting ceremony. “I know we’ve had cafes in the past ,but Sliders is going to be instrumental. Hot food, hot meals, especially when prices at McDonalds and a lot of fast-food places, even Garden Catering, is expensive. Three sliders for $15? That’s insane.”
In addition to reasonably priced sliders coming in beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian options, the café offers a breakfast menu, grinders, salads, and other healthy options.
Ruwaid noted after the opening ceremony that food security was a concern for many members of the student body, and that while the campus is located in downtown Stamford the time it takes to get a hot meal, especially a healthy or affordable one, can make it a challenge for many students to work more than a quick snack between classes into their schedule. In the winter the issue is even more pronounced according to Ruwaid.
Jennifer Orlikoff, the campus dean and chief administrative for UCONN Stamford said that the community was “delighted that Sliders Café is also going to be part of our local eatery meal plan. It will be our sixth choice for students to be able to use their meal plan tickets.”
“I’m thrilled that you’re all here witnessing this next step in our progress towards becoming a destination campus,” Orlikoff told the crowd of hungry students that had already gathered in anticipation of the grand opening. Though rumors, which turned out to be true, of free sliders to mark the occasion drew some of them,full orders were being made and fulfilled as soon as the café’s cash registers were activated.
Nieves, who described the UCONN administration as easy to work with and quite welcoming, stressed that earning state certification as a minority owned business had also facilitated the process.
According to Nieves, the choice of sliders as a central food for the business to focus on was simple.
“Each truck I have has its own brand and Sliders has been our most popular brand out in the streets. When we cater off premises a lot of our clients are other universities across Connecticut and other New England States. Sliders is the first concept that gets booked all the time,” Nieves said. “So, when we started considering this partnership, we knew that we wanted to offer our hot solution with sliders and build that brand.”
He expects Sliders to take off, noting that his business has previously managed cafes for other clients, but that this represented an exciting opportunity to build a more recognizable brand. And that it would be simpler than serving from a food truck.
“When you get in a food truck, you’re in a moving kitchen all the time. The setup sometimes has limitations,” Nieves said. “Whereas here, you have on-site storage, everything is here. You don’t always have to test pilot lights and the gas and water to see if it’s working, and nothing shifts around as you drive.”
At present, Sliders Café can only be accessed through the lobby of 1 University Place, UCONN Stamford’s primary building. Only students, staff, and official guests will be able to visit the eatery for the time being, but Nieves expressed hope that the café’s space, which has a dedicated entrance of its own, might be able to serve the surrounding Stamford community in the future.
