Following assessment, a number of dining locations around campus have tweaked their hours of operation and menu options to better match student traffic and food preferences.
Both Haines Food Court in the Shriver Center and Martin Dining Hall on north campus have reduced hours of operation for fall semester.
According to Chris Pirigyi, general manager of Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services (HDRBS), Haines Food Court was previously open until 10:30 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday and 3:30 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday. The food court now closes at 10:30 p.m. all nights.
The food court had previously been busy into the late-night hours, but business has been steadily declining each year. Pirigyi said he attributes this dip in business to the extension of Bell Tower To-Go's hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., as well as its convenient location as a pit stop on the way back from Uptown. One thing Pirigyi said he wants to make clear is that the Shriver center will still have food available 24 hours a day.
"No matter what time of day it is, you can still get something to eat," Pirigyi said. "Sundial pizza is still open until midnight and other options such as the Spring Street Market and Tuffy's are open during the hours that Haines is not."
Martin dining hall has discontinued Saturday and Sunday brunch in favor of increased options in the Scoreboard Market, including a selection of breakfast sandwiches, and a stronger focus on Sunday dinners. According to Eric Yung, executive chef for student dining, the dinner schedule follows a three-week rotation, featuring foods representative of the new menus at the Maple Street Market, Armstrong Student Center and Alexander dining hall.
According to Yung more changes include a Trader's Green salad venue in Scott Dining Hall that previously existed only in the Farmer School of Business, and menu changes at Panache, located on south campus, which incorporate ingredients sourced from local buyers.
At Bell Tower, hot dogs and Coney dogs have been added to the to-go menu, while Starbucks Coffee has replaced Bell Tower brand coffee on the inside. The coffee area, which includes smoothies and a bakery case, has its own register to speed things up for students who just want these foods, according to Yung.
Yung said minor updates at Harris dining hall also took place, resulting in newer, more energy efficient equipment, and a fresher look for students. The dining hall is still buffet style, however the serving area has been broken up into separate stations for different kinds of food.
Yung said the various dining changes are positive ones.
"We all feel really good about all the changes, and about providing more healthy options like the salads at Scott," Yung said. "The changes, I think, have been really well-received by the students."
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Junior Kelsey Jurist said she is enjoying some of the dining changes.
"Adding the salads at Scott was a great idea," Jurist said. "I live off campus now, but the salads are so good that I got a meal plan so I can still get them for lunch sometimes. There was definitely a big need for another location because Farmer is always so crowded."
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