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News Release

Media Contact:

Christina Chavira
Communications Specialist
530.332.5589 office; 530.588.4411 cell
christina.chavira@enloe.org

Upper Crust coming to cafE in new Enloe tower

CHICO, Calif., July 27, 2011 – Enloe Medical Center and Upper Crust Bakery are pleased to announce that the local eatery will operate the café in the medical center’s new patient tower. In its first extension of its popular downtown location, Upper Crust will offer fresh fare and respite for guests and hospital staff alike. The cafe is expected open with Enloe’s new patient tower, called the Magnolia Tower, in early 2012. It will be located just off the main lobby and have indoor as well as outdoor seating. It will be offered in addition to the existing Allspice Café in the basement of the medical center.

Co-owners Laura Powers and Rebecca Shadd and general manager Eric Brooks are in the early phases of planning and have clear ideas for the new space. “We want to create a welcoming space for everyone,” said Powers. They are striving for a classic coffee house/café space with their own Upper Crust characteristic twist. “We want people to realize they have stepped out of the hospital and into a café,” said Powers. The outdoor seating area drawn into the patient tower’s plans will no doubt add to that refreshing environment. “The weather is lovely most of the year. If someone is looking for a little respite – a slice of pie and a cup of coffee – we hope that they’ll be able to find that, and get a little fresh air.”

The café menu is currently being fine-tuned and is expected to involve a “miniature” version of the cuisine at the Main Street location: Egg-based breakfast items and hardy oatmeal bowls  -- “so that if you happen to catch yourself there in the early hours,” Powers says, “there’s something that feels like breakfast.” – in addition to pastries and baked goods, specialty salads, homemade soups and lunch entrees. As it is currently envisioned, Upper Crust staff will transport menu items to the new space.

Tentative hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. Powers understands that for many medical center employees and physicians, mealtimes can be untraditional. “We hope to be cognizant of the multiple (hospital) shifts that people work throughout the day. We realize that someone is looking for a sandwich at eight in the morning. We will make an effort to have some of the lunchtime foods on the early side.”

The Upper Crust ownership plans to cater to the natural environment of a medical center. “People are coming and going from all set of circumstances and angles. We know that there are going to be people on the fly, watching the clock and needing to get somewhere. There is also the other part, where guests need some space. We want it to be that place where you can sit down and relax,” said Powers. “We want to feel like it’s your second space.”

Powers and Shadd have owned Upper Crust since 1993, and said they look forward to tailoring their menu offerings to this additional location. The connection with Enloe was an added attraction, said Powers. “Talk about something that the community at large, every single person, tentatively has a connection to. We all need Enloe to thrive, and it is a hub of our community. Who doesn’t want to feel like they’re connected to something so intrinsic in the community. We’re excited!”

Enloe Medical Center completed an intensive review process for the café operator that included a number of local eateries. Board members, community members as well as hospital leadership were involved in the final selection. “It was a tough choice between all of these local businesses, but Upper Crust distinguished itself not only through its food and beverage offerings, but its customer service philosophy and commitment to quality,” explained Laura Hennum, Enloe’s Vice President of Professional Services and Business Development. “The medical center is very pleased to create this connection between local business and our new patient tower. We know that our patients and visitors will appreciate having Upper Crust as another aspect of our healing environment.”

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Enloe Medical Center is a local, nonprofit health care organization. For more information, please call 530/332-7300 or visit us online at http://www.enloe.org.   Enloe Medical Center is located at 1531 Esplanade Chico, Calif.  95926.