The Commons

Lower level, Wing A · ext. 2134

Hours

Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. and 4:30–6:30 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Closed weekends, during the winter closure, and between the spring and fall terms. There is no food service at the Aviation and Heavy Equipment Annex. A vending arrangement for the Annex remains under review.

The Commons is operated by the College and is not contracted. There is no meal plan. Payment is by card or cash; DroverNet accounts may be used at the register.

Vending

Vending is available in Wing A, the Shop Building, and outside Drover Court, 24 hours when the buildings are open. The machine outside Drover Court is the only one that accepts cards.

Microwaves and refrigerators

Four microwaves and two refrigerators in the Commons are for student use. Refrigerators are emptied every Friday at 1:00 p.m. and the contents discarded, without exception and without notice to owners.

The menu

The Commons operates a two-week rotating cycle, posted as a PDF and revised each term. Selections reflect what the instructional kitchens produce, and the cycle is built around the practicum calendar. Practicum output is sold at cost when it meets standard and is surplus to instruction. Practicum items vary and are not guaranteed on any given day; the posted menu marks them selections vary. The Commons replaced its brewer in June 2022; the previous equipment was surplused.

• Sauerkraut balls are sold in orders of five on Fridays during the fall and spring terms only. They routinely sell out before noon. The Commons does not hold or reserve orders.
• The Ostrowski, a hot ham, provolone, and pickled pepper sandwich pressed on rye, is available daily.
• Cultured butter from the Traditional Dairy Processing practicum is served Wednesdays with bread at no charge alongside any purchase, while it lasts. Production varies by cohort. There is no butter in summer.
• JoJo’s, pressure-cooked seasoned potato wedges, are served Fridays alongside the sauerkraut balls, in halves and wholes. The Commons has served them under this name since 1996 and does not use another.
• Fried bologna, Tuesdays: thick-cut wood-smoked ring bologna from Holmes County, griddled, on a soft roll with sweet pickle and raw onion.
• Shredded chicken sandwich, alternating Wednesdays, prepared in the slow cookers and thickened with crushed crackers. It appears on the menu under that name and not under any of its local alternatives.
• City chicken is on the cycle menu every other Tuesday. It contains no chicken; the menu has carried the clarification since 2017.
• Pierogi are served Thursdays in the fall term, from a recipe deposited with the College by the Foodways Documentation course in 2019.
• Buckeyes are made by the Commons kitchen for Drover Day, commencement, and the Foundation banquet only, and are not sold on the line.
• Pawpaw is served plain when the Woodland Botanical Products program’s harvest permits, which is late September into early October and not every year. The program’s yield is small and priority goes to instruction.

The condiment station

The Commons maintains a self-service condiment station at the end of the line. It offers, in fixed positions that have not changed since 2015: ketchup, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, ranch, and white French. Portion cups are 1.5 fluid ounces; the first two are included with any entrée purchase, and additional cups are $0.25 each per the Schedule of Charges. Pump dispensers were removed in 2018 following a cost review and have not been reinstated. Requests for their reinstatement are received each term.

The Commons prepares a house ranch in five-gallon batches on Mondays and Thursdays, from cultured buttermilk supplied by the Traditional Dairy Processing practicum; it is labeled House at the station. A commercial ranch is stocked alongside it and is labeled Commercial. The College has not at any point discontinued the commercial product, and the Office of Food Service has stated that it does not intend to.

White French, a mayonnaise-based dressing of the Akron area, is stocked year-round and is prepared in house from a recipe deposited with the College in 2019 by a participant in the Foodways Documentation course, who requested that the depositor not be named.

Selection at the condiment station was the subject of a two-term observational study in the College’s Technical Report Series (TR-2026-02). Copies are available from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

The Fall Clambake

The Fall Clambake is held the first Saturday of October at Pasture 5 and is organized by the Bellweather College Foundation as its principal fall fundraiser. The bake follows the regional practice: clams, chicken quarters, sweet potatoes, and corn steamed together in a single pot. No seaweed is used. Sides are prepared by the Commons kitchen with practicum support from the Fermentation and Dairy programs.

Tickets are $34, or $18 for a chicken-only ticket; students receive $12 off with a current ID. The 2025 bake sold 412 tickets and netted $6,180 for the scholarship fund. The Heavy Equipment program has dug the fire pit each year since 2009; this is recorded at the program’s request.

Prices

Representative prices; the full price list is posted at the register.

Charges assessed by the College appear in the Schedule of Charges.

Not available

• Snails. Gastropod Cultivation program stock is raised for commercial and research markets. It is not for consumption, is not sold to students, and is not served in the Commons.
• Spice program samples. Graded lots are documented inventory and are not distributed.
• Anything produced in the Wing E preparation laboratory. The Commons and Wing E share no equipment, no ventilation, and no personnel.
• Cincinnati chili, goetta, mock turtle soup, and cottage ham are not served. The Commons receives requests for the first of these from students who have moved north and notes that it is not in a position to satisfy them.

The Drover Pantry, Room A-141, is open to all enrolled students and to College employees with no eligibility requirement; see the Drover Pantry.