The Bistro

Hours of Operation

• Monday: 7:30am - 9:30pm
• Tuesday: 7:30am - 9:30pm
• Wednesday: 7:30am - 9:30pm
• Thursday: 7:30am - 9:30pm
• Friday: 7:30am - 5:30pm
• Saturday: 8am - 12:30pm
• Sunday: 8am - 12:30pm

Bistro Bucks and Gift Cards

Bistro Bucks are a form of on campus currency, which are redeemable at the Bistro for drinks or bakery items. Bistro Bucks can be won in many events on campus or purchased online. To purchase online email mcschelling@willamette.edu. 

Gift cards can be purchased for a student, friend, or anybody you would like at the counter or online. Purchase a gift card.

Reserve The Bistro for your event

The Bistro can be reserved for your event any night it is normally open for a rate of $30 an hour. Email mcschelling@willamette.edu to make a reservation!

Our Mission

The mission of the Bistro Willamette is to facilitate an inclusive and educational community for students to challenge themselves professionally and socially and to provide an accessible platform for student creativity and expression.

Our Products

We  have high standards for our food and beverages. Almost everything you see in The Bistro's case is made completely from scratch right here in our kitchen, often using the family recipes of current or former employees. Our kitchen is running 18 hours a day cranking out warm cookies, our famous bars and fresh lunch and dinner items.

Our Vendors

The Bistro takes pride in the vendors that we use to provide our coffee, bagels, produce and milk. All of these vendors are local, so that our ingredients are as fresh as possible when they arrive at our store. Our coffee supplier is Portland Roasting. All our coffee is organically grown, fair-trade certified and always brewed fresh. Our loose leaf tea selection is supplied by Tao of Tea, who are committed to the artistry, freshness, and spirit of the tea they share with us. Spielman Bagels provides us with fresh bagels every morning, hand-rolled and kettle-boiled the old-fashioned way. Our newest addition, the ever-popular Curry Pockets, are provided to us through Happy Curry Foods located right here in Salem. 

Our Staff

Not pictured: Gavin Klipfel, River McClelland, Autumn Savoye, Jillyan Harada, Lexie Burns.

Our History

In 1985, during the fall of their sophomore year, Willamette students Eric Fishman and John Donovan realized that their campus had a problem: there was nowhere for students to hang out in the evening, much less late at night. After the cafeterias closed for dinner, there was no place for a hungry student to grab a snack without going off-campus.

Eric and John believed that they had the solution to this problem: a student-run coffee house that would provide food, beverages, and musical entertainment to Willamette's campus. The following spring, they pitched their idea to then-president Jerry Hudson, supported by adviser Bob Hawkinson. To the surprise of many Willamette administrators, President Hudson supported Fishman and Donovan's idea, and gave them the start-up cash to make their vision a reality.

In the fall of 1986, the Bistro opened its doors for the first time. Armed with their grandmothers' recipes, hand-me-down cafe tables, and a group of 10 enthusiastic student staff, Fishman and Donovan laid the groundwork for what has become a Willamette institution.

Ten years after the Bistro's founding, it was renovated and expanded to its current size. By this time, Open Mic was already a long-standing tradition, and students were almost unable to imagine a Willamette without the Bistro.

The Bistro is coming on its 40-year anniversary since opening its doors to the Willamette Community. The Bistro is now a self-sustaining business, almost entirely financially independent from the University. Well over 400 Willamette students have spent a portion of their college years serving lattes behind the counter and baking bars in the kitchen. The Bistro today is a testimony to the innovation, hard work, fun-loving spirit, and “Bistro love” of each of those students.