Renovations of the Haupert Union Building have displaced every department within the building except for Dining. To alleviate the impact of disruptions to students, the Dining Department has implemented changes to its operations this semester.
Most prominently, the entrances to The Star and B&G will be changed. The HUB was officially closed off starting the week of Jan. 29, so students can no longer access The Star from within the building. The new entrance is outside of the building, across from Makuvek Field, which used to be an emergency exit.
Melony Nonnemacher ‘27 finds the arrangement hard to navigate.“I think it’s very inconvenient, especially with the current weather,” she said. “No one wants to walk about the entire field to get food.”
Arianna Barata ‘27 agrees. “I don’t like where the door is,” she said. “The sidewalk is blocked off to get to the door.”
With the sidewalk closed off, students either have to walk around the entire building to stay on the sidewalk or walk on the hill leading to the field, which can be difficult.
The registers have been relocated to this entrance for students to swipe in and utilize an “Express Lane.” This lane allows students to get a Green-To-Go container which allows busy students to quickly grab a bite on the go. There are also ready-made meals in refrigerators behind the register that students can purchase.
Once renovations are further underway during Spring Break, The Star will be losing about 50 seats in an area that will be renovated into a new elevator shaft and stairwell. The goal of the “Express Lane” is to give students more options to eat elsewhere on campus when there are few to no seats available within the dining hall.
“I’m glad they’re renovating the HUB, and we’ll be here to see it, but at the same time, I kind of miss the old layout of The Star and wish they would renovate it, too,” said Alexis Coleman ‘27.
During spring break, the entrance to the B&G will be moved to the front of the HUB, where the Hissho Sushi station was originally located. The interior of the B&G has been rearranged to accommodate this new entrance location, with sushi being provided in a refrigerator rather than the sushi bar, cash registers being moved to the right, and a cutlery station moving inside the B&G.
The B&G has also adjusted operational hours on Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.
On the Everyday app, students can check the hours of operation for all dining locations on campus and preorder food. The app provides rewards students can utilize to receive discounts on future meals.
Currently, there are no plans to close either The Star or B&G at any point during the renovations.
“If there are any changes due to the ongoing construction, we will communicate those out to the campus as quickly as possible,” said Christine Bell, marketing manager of Dining Services.
Some students still have concerns, such as Rori Smith ‘27. “I’m concerned about eating in an active construction zone and what precautions are going to be taken to maintain sanitation,” she said.
Other students find the new arrangement to be inconvenient. “It’s harder to get food in between back-to-back classes since the access to the dining hall is extremely limited,” said Kaylee Thomas ‘26.
Dining is providing new food options around campus, which will further alleviate inconveniences due to the renovations.
DeLight’s Café is offering new options such as Açaí smoothie bowls, peanut butter toast, and avocado toast. Near DeLight’s, the Yo-Kai Express machine, which was introduced to campus last fall semester, provides ramen and other soup options. These are frozen in the machine and heated when ordered. The Yo-Kai ramen machine will be available 24/7 to students.
Another dining option introduced last semester is the Hungry Hound Express Food Truck. The food truck is known for its cheesesteaks but also serves different options on occasion. The food truck is typically operational on Thursdays on the 1742 Splotch but does travel to other locations and operate on other days of the week.
Dining has introduced more vending machines across both North and South campuses. Two new machines have been placed in the lobby of PPHAC and another in The Sally. The vending machines offer pre-made sandwiches, salads, snacks, and microwavable meals. Students can pay using their Dining Dollars, Houndbucks, or a credit/debit card.
