Rendering of Ted's Café.

When it opens, the newly renovated café at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will be called Ted’s Café.

Ted Brown.

Founding Director Ted Brown, a champion for the café and the community it offers, is making a generous gift to the renovation.

“It’s part of the dream we had at the beginning,” Brown said, speaking of his work in shaping the Beckman Institute 40 years ago. “A café offered an opportunity to add to the creative environment.”

In the early 1980s, the concept of a space where researchers of widely differing backgrounds could work together was almost unheard of. Brown, along with several University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign collaborators, worked closely with benefactors Arnold and Mabel Beckman to create the Beckman Institute. The entire building, including the original café, was designed to bring people together.

The café operated successfully until it closed about two years ago for a full renovation. When it reopens, it will feature casual seating and a large table where groups can gather. An on-demand coffee bar will keep researchers caffeinated at all hours, and a new private dining room on the first floor will offer views of campus and a quieter space for sharing a meal. The café will hire a chef to set the menus for both breakfast and lunch, as well as catering.

“I’m very invested in it and I’m thrilled that it’s going to happen,” Brown said. “The Beckman Institute means a lot to me.”

Brown (far left) and his spouse Audrey struck up a friendship with Arnold and Mabel Beckman (far right and center), who visited frequently during the Beckman Institute's construction and gave input on the institute's programs.

Beckman Director Steve Maren said Ted’s Café is a fitting tribute to Brown, whose work was instrumental in founding the institute and shaping its purpose. Brown and his spouse Audrey struck up a friendship with the Beckmans, who visited frequently during construction and gave input on the institute’s programs.

“Until now, the only named space in the building has recognized Arnold and Mabel Beckman,” Maren said. “Anyone who knows Ted and his devotion to this place understands how meaningful it will be to visit Ted’s Café.”

The café will be a destination not just for Beckman community members, but also for faculty and staff members and students from all over campus, Maren said.

“It’s a place for ideas and people to come together,” Maren said. “Ted’s enduring involvement and guardianship of Beckman has been remarkable. The fact that it will continue in this form with his name on the café — the heart and soul of the community — speaks volumes to his important legacy.”

Brown said he’s also pleased that the space will honor Audrey and their friendship with the Beckmans. Plaques and photos around the space will share their stories.

“It’s our family’s money,” Brown said of his donation to the café. “It’s something my family’s invested in. It is, in a sense, a family decision.”