Photo via Foursquare
According to employee tweets and photos, Apple opened a stunning new Caffè Macs employee cafeteria at the corner of Bandley and Alves Dr. in Cupertino this past Tuesday. Located close to the company’s first campus building, Apple received approval to build at this location in early 2012, and after 2 years of work, the new cafeteria is complete.
Unlike Apple’s main employee cafeteria at their Infinite Loop complex, which visitors can enter if signed in by an Apple employee, this new cafeteria is off limits to anyone but Apple staff. In a 2012 interview with Apple’s Director of Real Estate Facilities Dan Whisenhunt, he explained that cafeteria would be a place where employees could talk freely about their work without fear of being eavesdropped upon. Caffè Macs Alves is located within walking distance of many other Apple offices in the surrounding area and on Bandley Dr.
The building, which appears to be comprised primarily of glass, steel, and wood, fits right in with Apple’s recent retail stores, and is even somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s Campus 2 project. The cafeteria was designed by Foster + Partners, the same agency responsible for the Campus 2 project. The kitchen, espresso bar, and servery are all smaller versions of what is being planned for the new campus cafeteria, which will be eight times larger and span two floors. Apple plans to use this cafeteria as a test run of sorts, to better understand the layout and design of the upcoming kitchen.
Aside from this new building and the main Infinite Loop campus cafeteria, Apple operates many other Caffè Macs locations, including one in Austin, TX, as well as several more around the Cupertino area.
Fancy Spaceship Caffe Macs (@ Caffè Macs – Alves w/ 13 others) https://t.co/YC7Wcce6BE pic.twitter.com/ERFWH2YokK
— Bryson Shellito (@brysonshellito) June 10, 2014
Apple provided the following notice to employees:
