620 West is a student-run restaurant located on the Chippewa Valley Technical College campus. 620 West, which started in the fall of 2018, is an enterprise that is a part of the CVTC Culinary Management Program, according to CVTC’s website. 

Melissa Tok is the manager of the CVTC enterprise. 

“Anything that we’re bringing in monetary or money amounts, it falls in the category of the enterprise, or 620 West,” Tok said. 

Tok said those who work in the restaurants are culinary students who are trying to hone their skills while led by instructors. One of those instructors is Jonathan Fike, the baking and pastry program director, who comes up with the menu and is in charge of the restaurant’s food. 

“I oversee the student production for the day and make sure that what they’re doing is one; appropriate and two; safe for the public to eat,” Fike said. According to Tok, they are open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

The restaurant’s hours on Monday and Friday are 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for pickup where it offers a $10 meal. According to its website, it’s open for dine-in from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays. 

Tok said that on Mondays and Fridays 620 West trains its first-year students while it is run by their second-year students on Wednesdays. Due to COVID-19, the dine-in option is still not available. Fike hopes that dine-in may be available next semester. 

According to Tok, 620 West also has a food truck that was donated from Silver Springs Food. To prepare for and clean up after service, students who work at the restaurant have class from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Fike said a new menu is available for almost every service incorporating different cultures and themes and the Wednesday menu changes every two weeks. Fike said that on Oct. 26 the menu was haunted mansion-themed. 

The menu themes for Monday and Friday through November are posted on its website. It also has a Facebook and Instagram page.

620 West is open to the Eau Claire community, they accept walk-in orders on Monday and Friday and take out orders by phone on Wednesdays. 

Tok said that culinary students make deliveries to those who place orders on Wednesdays, unless they live on campus, then the customer can get their order at the pick up window.

“We average about 40 people a day on Mondays and Fridays and probably closer to 60 on Wednesdays,” Fike said. He also said he believes the program helps the local community. 

“There’s a huge employment gap between what restaurants around town needed and training. CVTC is here to train the workforce for the Chippewa Valley,” Fike said. 

Tok said that 620 West is having an upcoming November Pie Sale that allows customers to purchase pies for themself as well as donate pies to a veteran’s home. The profits from the event will be used to help the CVTC food pantry.

“We also have a food pantry here on campus and so the culinary club gives to that on a regular basis,” Tok said. 

Every day that this program is held, students put in about 6-7 hours of work, according to Tok. 

According to Fike, his philosophy towards running a smooth kitchen is the French phrase, “mise en place,” which translates to “everything in its place.”

Curtin can be reached at [email protected].