It’s not often that you walk into a buffet-style
restaurant and find caramelized salmon with mango salsa as an entrée choice. But thanks to Jon and Karen Huntsman’s vision of “quick-service gourmet,” that’s what you’ll find at The Point Restaurant and Reception Center, located in the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

According to Brandon Howard, director of operations at The Point, the restaurant has given the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s doctors and scientists a venue for research and development discussion, and has provided those visiting the institute with an affordable and comforting eating environment — not to mention a great view of the city from the top floor.

“Mr. Huntsman found that often the doctors weren’t aware of what the scientists were doing, and vice versa,” says Howard. “The restaurant can be called a ‘melting pot of minds’ and was really created to help open the communication
channels.”

Because The Point is subsidized by the Huntsmans, the restaurant offers lower prices and is able to run as a nonprofit during lunchtime hours. As Howard says, the Huntsmans “didn’t want to make money off someone’s suffering.” Some of the affordable and healthy meals include vegetarian lasagna, specialty salads, Mongolian beef, clam chowder, and sesame chicken.

The Point, which serves breakfast and lunch, feeds 550 people each day and has increased sales this year by $230,000—quite an impressive feat for a restaurant that operates on a budgeted subsidy. While 70 percent of the restaurant’s patrons comes from the U, the remainder come from the community.

Those patrons will be glad to know that Howard is currently assisting with plans for a restaurant in the institute’s new building — a European bistro with a wood-burning oven that will have a layout and design that Howard says will rival The Point.

—Amanda Jones BS’99 is an account executive
at Connect Public Relations in Provo.

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