Spring classes may soon be coming to an end, but college foodservice staff will be hard at work this summer revamping, constructing and planning new dining concepts. Here are seven such up-and-coming eateries on our radar.
Due to open this fall, the renovated Curtis Dining Hall at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, will include updated kitchen equipment and an open kitchen that emphasizes freshly prepared meals as well as diner customization, exemplified by its inclusion of such options as a mac and cheese bar. The entrance to the dining hall will feature lounge seating surrounded by a fireplace that students can use after the food stations close for the day.
Western New England University’s new 70,000-square-foot Dining Commons will also debut in the fall, showcasing three floors dedicated to foodservice, as well as a fourth floor offering meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace. Students on the Springfield, Mass., school’s meal plans or those who wish to pay a daily door fee will be able to visit the second and third floors, which will offer themed food stations such as Asian, Mediterranean and allergy-free.
The entry level will host a retail area with a Starbucks, a bakery, a grill and sandwich concept, and a private dining room for faculty and staff.
School officials at Savannah State University in Savannah, Ga., are working to expand King-Frazier Dining Hall just in time for the start of the fall semester. Additions will include a vegan station offering dishes in accordance with PETA standards. Workers are also transforming the hall’s patio into a private dining area for staff and faculty.
The dining facility within Clet Hall at Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y., had a soft opening at the beginning of the school year; however, the eatery will be fully complete this fall. Over the summer, work will begin on the eatery’s new patio, which will be home to seating, flower planters and an 875-square-foot green space filled with herbs and native plants. The school is also installing a rain barrel as an eco-friendly way to water the new plants.
The University of New Mexico’s dining hall, La Posada, will undergo a revamp this summer. Plans include a salad bar and an innovation station where chefs will freshly prepare meals across all dayparts; both concepts will be open 24 hours a day. A kiosk at the entrance will offer Starbucks coffee, Einstein Bros. Bagels and freshly made bakery items. School officials expect the dining hall to be open when students return to the Albuquerque campus in August.
Lewis University’s plans for a 25,000-square-foot student center on its Romeoville, Ill., campus are centered on an aviation theme that reflects the school’s flagship aviation program. Construction just began on the center, which will include a dining hall, 24-hour convenience store and cafe, outdoor terraces and areas for student activities. A vintage plane hung by cables will be featured in the building’s atrium.
Due to be fully completed in August, parts of North Dining Hall at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., have already been renovated, with the finishing touches set to take place over the summer. After classes end, work will begin on a new grab-and-go market as well as food stations that will offer a wider variety of vegan and allergen-free options. A station that offered meals tailored to student athletes will get the ax; those meals will instead be incorporated throughout the rest of the dining hall.
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