Dear Jay and list: While I don't work at an institution with a cafe, I frequently visit museums that have eateries, just to eat. For the most part they are places that I visit on other occasions to view their exhibitions, but as I work in the arts, any excuse to surround myself with art is a good one! However, these places usually offer their cafes as destinations in addition to and separate from the museums in which they are located. One of my favorite such restaurants is the one located in the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY (I hope it's still there). While I was a student at the University of Rochester I became very well acquainted with the museum and their restaurant was certainly worth a trip on its own merit. Depending on the traffic and set-up of your museum, my feeling is that allowing people, and maybe even encouraging them, to visit your facility just for the cafe or the shop will only make them feel like your institution is more accessible and more "theirs." The Newark Museum, in Newark, NJ is another great example. They don't have an actual cafe, but offer a lunch service, open to the public, in their indoor courtyard. During the summer on Wednesdays they move the lunch outside and free jazz concerts. This is a great way to engage local business people who might just get in their cars and go home at 5:00, never getting to see the museum. Instead they have a reason to come into the musuem durning the day and as a result begin to develop a relationship with it. The Newark Museum does not charge admission but accepts donations upon entering. Even so, I believe that they would be able to accomplish this type of program regardless of admission policy. Hope this feedback helps. Sincerely, Shana O'Hara Program and Operations Manager Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art Newark, NJ >From: Jay Heuman <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Admission for cafe access? >Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 12:34:56 -0500 > >Hello All! > >Joslyn Art Museum does not differentiate between those who >are >visiting for the "whole museum experience" versus those who >intend just to eat in the cafe. So, we charge everyone >admission. >We have no way (at present) to prevent these cafe patrons >from >going to the galleries, and consider our cafe to be an >amenity >for visitors. (We do not have a separate entrance to the >cafe.) > >I would appreciate commentary from those of you who work in >museums with cafes that do not have a separate entrance. Do >you charge admission to patrons who say they only want to go >to >the cafe? If there is no admission charge, how (if at all) >do you >keep track of these patrons? How (if at all) do you prevent >people >from going into your exhibition space(s)? > >For those without personal involvement in such admissions >policies, >what are your feelings as potential visitors to a museum >that has >a blanket admissions policy, even if you just want to eat in >the >cafe? > >Sincerely, > >Jay Heuman, Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator >Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102 >342-3300 (telephone) 342-2376 (fax) >http://www.joslyn.org > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail >message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should >read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff >Museum-L" (without the quotes). _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).