MassBay and Baker’s Best to Offer Expanded Dining Options in Newly Renovated Buccaneer Café

MassBay Community College Buccaneer Café ribbon cutting ceremony on Wellesley Hills campus, Wellesley Hills, MA, September 2026 (Photo / MassBay Community College).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Liz Cooper
ecooper@massbay.edu

WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass. (September 9, 2026) — MassBay Community College and Needham-based Baker’s Best Catering officially opened the newly renovated Buccaneer Café, providing students, faculty, and staff with a wide variety of fresh and affordable dining options on the college’s Wellesley Hills campus.

The new 2,700-square-foot café features a state-of-the-art kitchen with all-new stainless-steel, all-electric appliances, and a high-efficiency walk-in cooler and freezer. Food service offerings include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and grab-and-go options throughout the day. Customers can choose from freshly made sandwiches, salads, burgers, fries, baked goods, and other menu selections designed to meet the needs of the campus community.

The Buccaneer Café will be staffed and operated by the Baker’s Best team, bringing more than four decades of food service and hospitality experience to MassBay.

“The newly renovated Buccaneer Café reflects our commitment to enhancing the student experience and creating welcoming spaces where members of our campus community can gather, connect, and recharge,” said MassBay President David Podell. “We are proud to collaborate with a trusted local company that shares our dedication to service, quality, and community. It has truly been an exceptional partnership.”

In addition to expanded dining options, the Buccaneer Café will feature a mobile app that enables customers to place orders in advance, pick up meals without waiting in line, and earn loyalty rewards.

“This partnership represents an exciting opportunity to serve the MassBay community,” said Gordon Hospitality Group CEO David Gordon. “We look forward to providing students, faculty and staff with fresh meals, convenient service, and a welcoming dining experience.”

Founded by Michael Baker in Newton Highlands in 1984, Baker’s Best began as a neighborhood café known for its sandwiches and baked goods. The company expanded into catering in 1991 and opened a 20,000-square-foot commissary in Needham in 2007. In 2022, Baker’s Best became part of Gordon’s Fine Wine, bringing together two longstanding family-owned businesses.

Ranked the #1 community college in Massachusetts and #15 in the nation for Career Outcomes by WalletHub, MassBay Community College is the most affordable higher education option in MetroWest Boston and is free to most Massachusetts residents without a bachelor’s degree. With more than 70 associate degree and certificate programs, along with comprehensive workforce and educational training, MassBay provides a wide range of courses with flexible day, evening, and weekend classes in Wellesley, Framingham, the Automotive Technology Center in Ashland, and online, in high-demand fields including health and life sciences, computer science, engineering, cybersecurity, business, and the humanities. MassBay students receive unparalleled value, with free one-on-one academic and social support services, compassionate and experienced faculty, and stackable credits that easily transfer to bachelor’s degree programs and that provide hands-on, workforce-ready skills. Health sciences, human services, early childhood education, and many general education programs are offered at the 65,000 square foot, state-of-the-art MassBay Framingham, which has served the community since January 2024. Founded in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by multiple governing bodies and remains dedicated to serving its diverse communities, fostering inclusiveness, and advancing equity for all.