In the garden level of the 140 West 62nd Street Building, Saxbys and both bathrooms flooded due to heavy rainfall on Oct. 30, causing Saxbys to close for two days. In their first month of operation, the student-run café is adapting to its new environment on the Lincoln Center campus.

The storm set record rainfall levels in select locations across New York City, causing flooding in basements, some streets and subway stations.

The large amounts of rain caused drain water to flow out of the sinks in Saxbys. Aidan Engelmann, student CEO of Saxbys and Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’26, said he immediately made a series of calls to Public Safety, Facilities Operations, partners at Aramark and Saxbys’ Area Manager Anna Costello.

It was purely, to my understanding —  and again, Fordham’s doing their own report on everything here — purely the large amount of rain that came in yesterday.” Aiden Engelmann, Student CEO of Saxbys and GSBLC ’26

Engelmann and Saxbys team members contained the flooding to the Saxbys café area using rags while they waited for Facilities Operations, who Engelmann said were “pretty backed up” between the flooding sites. 

“Nothing clogged on our end, nothing was put down the drains that there shouldn’t have been. It was purely, to my understanding —  and again, Fordham’s doing their own report on everything here — purely the large amount of rain that came in yesterday,” Engelmann said.

Once Facilities Operations stopped the drainage, the Saxbys team cleaned, removed all food from the refrigerators which had been unplugged, and reorganized. An external company was brought in to perform a deep clean, according to Orla Fitzsimons, director of Dining Business Operations and Contract Management.

Jedd Applebaum, chief engineer and associate director of Facilities Operations, confirmed that the cause was the “ridiculous” amount of rain and said Facilities Operations has previously experienced issues during storms. He added that they are still brainstorming solutions. 

The café has not yet been visited by a health inspector, according to the DOH website.

“We just did a walkthrough with our contractor plumber. … He’s coming up with options for us. This is something that’s been going on I guess for a while. We haven’t had a problem like this very often, but now we’re trying to address it as best we can,” Applebaum said. “Usually it has occurred only during massive thunder showers.”

Saxbys re-opened on Saturday.

Saxbys’ health and safety standards follow a combination of New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH), Saxbys, Aramark and Fordham guidelines, according to Engelmann.

“This is (Saxbys HQ’s) first New York City café, so it was a new terrain for everyone coming in. … We follow everything that both Aramark does in their other storefronts, along with what Fordham has recommended and New York City as well,” Engelmann said.

The café has not yet been visited by a health inspector, according to the DOH website. Saxbys is currently on the waitlist.

All Saxbys team leaders are certified with a New York City food protection card and through ServSafe, an online food handling certification system.

Engelmann and Fitzsimons said they were unsure when the official inspection would occur. Engelmann said the delay in inspection is “very normal for facilities within New York City because it is such a large area that they have to cover with very small staff.” Fitzsimons echoed this, attributing the delay to the DOH being “on catch-up from COVID,” and added that, prior to opening, the DOH approved the renovations and Saxbys’ operating permit. Restaurants around New York City have dealt with delays in DOH health inspections post-COVID due to budget cuts to the DOH and low staffing. 

Oluwatoyin Akinfeleye, the sanitarian for Aramark at Fordham, has been conducting weekly site inspections since Saxbys opened. Engelmann walks through the café with Akinfeleye at each site inspection taking notes, and she provides recommendations for improvement. 

Throughout the series of inspections, Saxbys has adapted and improved their operational efficiency and health and safety policies, in accordance with recommendations from Akinfeleye, according to Engelmann. 

During Saxbys’ most recent inspection by Akinfeleye on Nov. 4, Englemann said they “passed with flying colors” and received no suggestions for improvement. 

The Observer was unable to obtain a copy of logs from any inspections.

Engelmann listed some of the new policies, including having team members wear a hair net and a hat, rather than one or the other, and removing all jewelry prior to the start of work. 

Dalia Lundquist, GSBLC ’28 and a Saxbys team member, said she had not previously been aware of the policy on rings. 

“Fordham’s health office had never informed us that we couldn’t wear rings … so we failed on it, but now we’ve improved a lot,” Lundquist said.

Saxbys will begin recording a temperature log for all meats to ensure they stay within a safe range. Engelmann clarified that these policies are not required by the DOH, but were recommended by Akinfeleye nonetheless. 

Other new policies include placing covers on all trash cans and switching from using commercial dishwashing soap to sanitizing wipes. The latter switch was suggested by Costello to improve efficiency.

Engelmann also said that all Saxbys team leaders are certified with a New York City food protection card and through ServSafe, an online food handling certification system.

Lundquist pointed out that Saxbys is not an allergen-free café, as they cannot ensure there is no cross-contamination in the facilities of their ingredient suppliers.

Saxbys, having only been open for just over a month, is adapting to the strong student demand and addressing some growing pains that have arisen since its opening. Engelmann praised Saxbys’ success so far and said they are hiring new team members after some delays getting orders out in the initial weeks.

“We’ve had long lines and everyone seems really, really excited about it, which is great. … We’re in the process now of bringing in new team members who are getting the team fully trained every weekend and just trying to keep up with the crowds,” Engelmann said. “We are obviously getting faster and trending in the right direction, but I’d say that’s definitely been probably one of the largest challenges.”

The volume of transactions at Saxbys currently is higher than that of Argo at the same time last year.

Engelmann added that it was “always the plan” to start with a grand opening team, analyze sales after the first week, and then make a decision about hiring new employees accordingly. The hiring process is conducted by Saxbys HQ and Engelmann is not involved. 

Fitzsimons shared a similar sentiment regarding the student response to Saxbys and said that the volume of transactions at Saxbys currently is higher than that of Argo at the same time last year. She attributed this uptick to Saxbys accepting meal swipes as a payment option and offering hot food. 

Engelmann is also adjusting the quantities of ingredients he orders to avoid selling out of different items, but has experienced some small supply chain issues with invoiced items not arriving on time.

“Did I think that we would go through three gallons of whole milk in an hour? No. Never. So, have I made many trips to Target to try and get the whole milk back in stock? Yes, I have,” Engelmann said.

Engelmann said that the Saxbys employee handbook, which all employees must sign during onboarding, has a policy prohibiting its team members from speaking to the student press, with the exception of the student CEO.

“Are (DOH standards) rigorous? Are they sometimes challenging? Yeah, of course they are. But every single one is followed. And I know every team member will support that if you were to ask them and they were able to speak with you,” Engelmann said. “I brought it up to HQ and asked them if that was something that we could do … (but) only the student CEO is allowed to go talk to press.”

“We doubled into our pest control and they were on site every single day getting on top of the issue.” Orla Fitzsimons, Director of Dining Business Operations and Contract Management 

The Saxbys employee handbook states, “​​Under no circumstance are unapproved Team Members to speak to the media on behalf of Saxbys.”

Engelmann emphasized Saxbys’ “rigorous” standards, particularly with respect to their closing shifts. 

“In terms of closing, we have a pretty rigorous close. Obviously, because we’re on the basement level, we’re a café, so we do store food in the back. So everything must be sealed, everything must be enclosed that can attract any sort of pest or roach or anything like that,” Engelmann said.

 Fitzsimons shared that there was a mouse sighting in Ram Café.

“We doubled into our pest control and they were on site every single day getting on top of the issue,” Fitzsimons said. 

Ram Café’s last DOH inspection in Dec. 2024 received an A grade alongside two sanitary violations. These included that Ram Café was not “free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests” and contained flies or “food/refuse/sewage associated with flies.”

 “And then about a minute later … (my friend) is like, ‘Is that a mouse?’ And they point to the opposite direction, and so there are multiple mice … a little concerning, for sure.” Johnny DiLorenzo, GSBLC ’28

Johnny DiLorenzo, GSBLC ’28, said he and a friend saw two mice on the evening of Nov. 3 in the Garden Lounge, which then climbed into the vents.

“I’m trying to get some work done … and out of the corner of my eye, mid conversation, I see (a mouse) … and it climbs into the side of the wall,” DiLorenzo said. “And then about a minute later … (my friend) is like, ‘Is that a mouse?’ And they point to the opposite direction, and so there are multiple mice … a little concerning, for sure.”

A work order was placed for the four mice spotted in the Garden Lounge that night, and Facilities Operations responded that they had put down traps. 

This is not exclusive to Lowenstein. The Office of Residential Life (ORL) was recently notified of rodent sightings in the residential halls, according to Fitzsimons and Director of Residential Life Kelly Sosa, who oversees all student resident assistants (RAs) and resident first-year mentors (RFMs).

“A student/suite shared their concern with a RA, who immediately escalated the issue to their supervisor, allowing Residential Life to respond promptly,” Sosa said. “Following standard protocol, the student was asked to submit a work order, Facilities conducted an assessment, and an exterminator was subsequently contacted.” 

Sosa instructed students, should they see a rat, to submit a work order.

There were two reported cases in residential spaces. Sosa said the situation “is not considered an ongoing issue. However, the recent drop in temperature has contributed to the problem, as rodents tend to seek warmth and food sources indoors during colder weather.”

Fitzsimons added that another potential cause is the circus at Lincoln Center, which “upsets (the mice’s) habitat.”

Fitzsimons spoke at an RA-RFM meeting on Oct. 28 to explain the situation and review procedures for RAs and RFMs to best support students should they encounter rodents. 

Sosa instructed students, should they see a rodent, to submit a work order, after which Facilities Operations will assess the space, set traps and coordinate with an exterminator if necessary.