From meeting with Starbucks Coffee Company officials to conference calls with corporate management at Panda Express, the newly aligned Aramark food service directors at WCU are gearing up to open the new, 53,0000-square-foot dining hall this summer. Todd Littrell, who joined the team in mid-January as senior food service director responsible for all dining facilities and campus dining programs, said the goal is to open the all-you-care-to-eat venue on the second floor and the Starbucks coffee shop downstairs as early as June 1. Other food court offerings, McAlister’s Deli and the convenience store are expected to open closer to the start of the fall semester in a facility named the Courtyard Dining Hall.
Littrell said he believes diners will be impressed with the building’s tall ceilings, design features such as arched doorways and a curving staircase, and about 130 windows that flood the building with natural light. “Western has done a wonderful job with the planning, design and construction of the new dining hall, and we are excited about the opportunity to open it right and make the community proud,” said Littrell. “The space is beautiful - one of the nicest facilities I’ve seen in our region.”
Upstairs, customers will pay one price - $5.50 for breakfast, $6.50 for lunch and $7.50 for dinner -for an all-you-care-to-eat experience. At a deli station, diners will be able to watch panini or other sandwiches be made to order on fresh bread. At a “home zone,” rotisserie items and traditional meat, potatoes and vegetables will be served. At an international grill, menu items could range from stir-fry to pancakes. At a pizza center, which features an 8,000-pound oven already installed, customers will see flatbread and French bread pizza, calzones or pastas prepared in front of them. There also is a dessert station, which will have different daily features and a rotating menu of baked goods such as biscuits, scones and cinnamon rolls. In addition, the upstairs will have a salad bar and beverage station.
Downstairs in the food court, customers can purchase meals from Zoca, a Mexican-themed restaurant; Grille Works; Panda Express; and Freshens. Two restaurants and a convenience store downstairs will have their own exterior doors that enable the establishments to be open for extended hours. One of the restaurants will be a McAlister’s Deli, and the other will be Starbucks, which is expected to be open as late as 2 a.m. The convenience store, which is about four times the size of the facility in Dodson Dining Hall, will offer a line of produce and organic goods.
The $17.6 million structure will be the first newly built dining facility since Dodson was constructed in 1965, and Fred Hinson, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, said he expects the opening of the Courtyard Dining Hall to help with recruitment and retention initiatives. “Students are always concerned about food, parking and where they are going to live,” said Hinson. “The new dining facility will provide students with many choices for dining and is located in the center of campus near the recreation center and the University Center, which will be very attractive to them.”
Aramark, which manages WCU’s dining services, recently announced the realigned team of directors who will help the campus transition to the new Courtyard Dining Hall. Littrell joins WCU from Clemson University, where he worked in a similar position for the last five years. Mike Doppke will continue as food service director responsible for dining operations in A.K. Hinds University Center, vending, convenience stores and Java City operations. John Crowe, who will join the team at WCU on Monday, Feb. 16, is currently the food service director at Brevard College. All three were classmates at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C., in the early 1990s. The fourth team leader is Erica McIntosh, who joined the staff in December as catering director. Together, they will guide a work force expected to grow from about 240 to more than 300 in the next year.
“We have a very good team together that will offer a lot of good culinary knowledge and experience,” said Doppke. “We are very well-rounded in a lot of areas of expertise.”
Photo at right: WCU’s new food service team will be led by, from left, Todd Littrell, Erica McIntosh, Mike Doppke and John Crowe.