Ever crave a $5 foot-long sandwich, but dread driving off campus?

How about a European specialty like a cup of premium latte, a gourmet pastry, a fresh garden salad or a French-style artisan sandwich? No need to fly to Paris — because City of Hope will soon bring these treats to campus.

Artist’s rendering of the renovated campus cafeteria (Image courtesy of HMC Inc.)

Over the next 18 months, Subway, the world’s largest submarine sandwich franchise, and Brioche Doree, a French-style bakery café, will open locations at City of Hope.

“We listened to our employees and patients and these improvements are aligned with their suggestions” said Liz Dunne, executive officer of the Medical Center. “This food services plan will provide our staff, patients and visitors with the dining choices, hours of operation and dining experience they desire at City of Hope.”

According to Dick Thompson, vice president of facilities, design and construction, three Brioche Doree cafés will open on campus with locations in the courtyard area of the Geri & Richard Brawerman Ambulatory Care Center, the ground floor of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology and City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital.

The Subway will be housed in the back half of the current Conference Room B space. The front half of Conference Room B will merge with Conference Room A to form a large conference space. This first phase of construction will be completed in 2010.

Sodexo, which operates Le Bistro and Crossroads Café, will operate the Subway and Brioche Doree franchises on campus. “We are grateful to Sodexo, which will provide $1 million to underwrite the cost of the upgrades,” said Dunne.

The second phase of the food services plan, planned for completion in 2011, includes renovation of the Crossroads Café cafeteria to increase space and improve traffic flow. New food stations will increase selection and variety.