This past Thursday, Kessel had an unexpected delayed opening due to technical issues that caused a minor setback for students, faculty, and staff.

Students were quickly informed about the issue by several Pace services. At approximately 9:09 a.m., Westchester Housing e-mailed the student body.

“There are some equipment issues in the kitchen of the cafeteria: thus, there will be a delayed opening,” Alerie Tirsch, Director of Residential Life and Housing, said. “When we get more information, we will share it with you. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.”

For student-athletes, mornings start earlier than usual. They rely on these services heavily, however, Kessel was quick to fix their technical issues.

“I got out of practice around 10:00 a.m., I got the text about Kessel and waited until 10:20 a.m., then went to Kessel. It seemed okay to me. The building was open, and I got my food,” Diana Kaltenborn, Pace Swimming and Dive Team member, said.

The Office of Safety and Security informed the University at 10:44 a.m. of the updated news.

“The Pleasantville Cafeteria is open for limited service today, Jan. 25. Due to an issue with pipes in the building, some areas were affected. The issue has been resolved, but pipes throughout the building are being checked and cleaned of affected areas will be happening throughout the day,” the Office of Safety and Security said.

Clifford Mondesir, Director of Dining Operations, further explained the pipe issue that caused a delayed opening.

“It was just a drainage issue in the building. For precaution they tested all the drainage throughout the building. So if you were there during the day, you saw them going through Kessel. Kessel has number of drainage that actually goes on the floor… Some of them are in the cafeteria while some of them are in the hallway and by the staircase. If you were there earlier in the day they went through all of those.”

Abby Abidemi, a Kessel employee, explained the situation that happened before Kessel was opened.

“The place got flooded and they had been trying to fix it,” Abidemi said. “It was a pipe from the kitchen that they fixed it and it’s fine now.”

Kevin Henriquez, the food services director, explained that the pipe issues occurred overnight and a company came in quickly to fix it. Kessel was open for limited services at 10:45 a.m. then the pipe issue was fixed at 12:00 p.m..

“It was over before lunch was over actually,” Clifford Mondesir, Director of Dining Operations, said.

Even though Kessel had limited services, the Director of Dining Operations wanted to make sure that services were up to its best standards.

“We just wanted to make sure everyone was able to find everything. If we had to close a section, we wanted to make sure that the food items were available somewhere else,” Mondesir said. “That’s what we wanted to do. If students needed extra help on something, there was someone available at that station to ask.”

Even though Kessel had an unexpected delayed opening, staff were quick to fix the problem. This made a smooth transition for students throughout the day.