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Oxford welcomes changes uptown

Students enjoy sandwiches at Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop which opened this year.
Students enjoy sandwiches at Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop which opened this year.

Jenni Wiener, Staff Writer

Students enjoy sandwiches at Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop which opened this year. (SAMANTHA LUDINGTON | The Miami Student)

Throughout the year at Miami University many changes have occurred not only on campus, but uptown as well.

According to senior Brittany Bok, students have wished for a Chipotle in uptown Oxford for a long time. This year, that wish came true.

"When I heard we were getting a Chipotle uptown, I was so excited," Bok said. "My friends and I always crave Chipotle during the year, so now it's nice to be able to go there. I love it."

Sophomore Jared Wise agreed and likes to eat there all the time.

"Chipotle is one of my favorite places to eat," Wise said. "Qdoba is good, but nothing can compare with Chipotle. I'm so glad we finally have one."

Besides Chipotle, there are many other new developments in uptown Oxford, such as BTO Yogurt, Sushi Nara, new apartments, Maid Rite Sandwich Shop and Will's Pizza.

BTO, also known as By-The-Ounce, is Oxford's self-serve frozen yogurt shop.

Sophomore Lindsay Becker said she and all of her friends love to go to BTO for a cool treat.

"I always get so much frozen yogurt that it ends up costing me," Becker said. "They have so many flavors and toppings. I like to mix it up."

Becker said she likes the style of BTO and seems to always see people she knows there.

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Sushi Nara, on the other hand, is a little less casual than BTO.

"Sushi Nara has a lot of variety for a great price," said Bok, a waitress at the restaurant. "I absolutely recommend it to all of my friends."

She said Sushi Nara is a great place to go with family or friends because it has a bar with drink specials, the best sushi in Oxford and other good food for people who aren't keen on sushi.

Another new development that Bok said she thinks is a good addition to uptown is the new apartments. She, however, said she worries that with sophomores living on campus there could be too many.

"The redistribution of the off-campus population will be a great thing for students and uptown businesses," said Matt Rodbro, president of Red Brick Property Management Inc. "Students no longer have to live in apartments outside of town. They are able to live uptown and in houses in the Mile Square. Ideally, everyone will be able to function off-campus without needing a car."

Red Brick Property Management, Inc. owns the apartments in the new Chipotle building and the East Church Metropolitan Building. The company is also developing a new multi-use building across from Phan Shin that will have a private rooftop restaurant and spa, among other things.

"It may be nice to have more choice when it comes to off-campus housing," Bok said. "The new apartments are definitely in a great location."

With all of the new developments, however, comes the loss of some memorable businesses, such as Balcony Bar and the Alexander House.

"I am really sad that Balcony closed," Bok said. "We always went to happy hour there on Fridays. I have some great memories from that bar."

Rodbro, however, is optimistic about the new developments.

"I look forward to the further development of this important area and the creation of new businesses like grocery stores uptown," he said. "I think that we are all working toward an uptown that will not require students to travel to Kroger's, Wal-Mart and other far-off locations to take care of their everyday needs."

By Laura Siedlecki For The Miami Student

Plans for bus trips to Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield for the 2010-11 school year are under way.

Recently, the Diversity Affairs Council (DAC) received a grant from the Miami University Parents Fund to pay for transportation to the grocery store.

Mike Solarz, outreach director of the DAC, said the need for trips out of Oxford, especially for international students, was conveyed multiple times.

"Collectively DAC, the Office of International Education and Parking and Transportation Services coordinated and sponsored several trips last semester out of Oxford … due to the budget cuts the trips needed an outside source of funding," Solarz said.

This opportunity will be available during the months of September, November, January and possibly April. Once plans are finalized, dates will be announced.

Even though the idea is geared toward international students, all students can attend these trips. There will be a minimal fee of about $5 per student to attend.

Kris Stewart, assistant to the vice president for parent programs and divisional initiatives, said they wouldn't know how this initiative would benefit international students, but the intention is to provide all Miami students an opportunity to purchase a number of difficult to find groceries and goods including international foods.

"Oxford is a small town, and while Kroger provides a variety of groceries, Jungle Jim's would provide an even wider variety of foods and produce," Stewart said.

According to Stewart, one of the purposes of the Parents Fund is to provide funding for student initiatives where no other resources exist.

Sophomore Weijian Lou, an international student, is excited about the new opportunity.

"It will provide international students opportunities to get access to a supermarket where they can purchase various ingredients from their own countries as well as get the majority of their groceries," Lou said. "It will be a good platform for international students to share their cultures through participating in this kind of shopping activity, meaning that they can cook together and hang out after coming back from Jungle Jims."

Solarz said many international students experience culture shock during the first couple of months of school.

"This trip will allow international students to have access to more authentic options from their native countries and to feel a little bit more at home," Solarz said. "Hopefully, this will alleviate any culture shock that occurs upon arrival."