Tap and go your way to a great meal: the Annapolis Café is now able to accept meal payments by credit or debit card.
Through several years of logistics, accounting problem-solving, fluctuations between cash and ration card acceptance and modern technology work – finally, “come one, come all,” says Replenishment Flight Commander Major Matt King.
“You no longer have to pre-plan your meal ahead of time,” he says. “This is a big modernization: a small, convenience for wing personnel – but big for us.”
The café serves three meals a day, seven days a week in its public dining room. In the most recent couple of years, people had to use a paid-in-advance rations card. This entailed a visit through the café’s back door during work hours to see the rations clerk, making payment, having the rations card with you at every meal, and then re-loading it for further use. Ration cards are still available, but the ability to take Interac, Visa and Mastercard payments is a straightforward way for anyone who’d like to drop in.
“We have a full sandwich bar, three options at every meal, including a vegan/ vegetarian meal; Thursday nights are traditionally steak night, and we have fish and chips for Friday lunch,” King says. “We have Red Seal cooks in the café, and we have bakers who are making cookies and pastries every day. The quality is there: I go a couple times a week, and not because it’s my work.
“Half the base is right beside the café, and there’s no food service on the operations side – it’ll save you 20 minutes from leaving the base to pick up a meal. Anytime you gather people together over a meal, you can talk shop and it’s casual. The kitchen is the best: they’re proud of their skills, and people should come in and give their food a go.”
The Annapolis Café follows the Canadian Armed Forces’ national cyclical menu, offering vegetarian, vegan and local options, as well as a full salad bar, sandwich bar, freshly prepared soups, desserts and a variety of beverages.
The café is open three meals a day, seven days a week for military, civilian and public dining. The menu features Thursday supper steak nights, a traditional fish and chips lunch every Friday, and a daily classic breakfast. Payment is accepted via ration cards, Interac, Visa and Mastercard.
Groups of more than 10 wishing to visit the café for lunch or dinner are asked to contact the kitchen (902-765-1494 local 568-5047) in advance to ensure a full complement of hot meals is available.
