MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED FOR DINING SERVICE posted 1/20/06

Eating at Adrian College is about to get a whole lot better.

Administrators on campus have just announced a series of dramatic improvements to food service, including a major investment to upgrade facilities and radically change what food is offered.

Grill and Community Mongolian Grill - Perspective

The College has entered into an agreement with Sodexho USA, the leading food and facilities management services company in North America, to head up the dining service beginning May 1. As agreed in the contract, the company will fund a complete transformation of the dining experience.

Ritchie Dining Hall will now be called Ritchie Marketplace. When students currently go to Ritchie, they file through two serving lines. The facility will be reconfigured into seven to eight different “stations,” and students can go directly to whichever station they like. Options will include a grill, a community Mongolian wok, a salad bar and deli, a pizza and pasta bar, and a dessert and old fashioned ice cream parlor. Food will be prepared out in the open, right in front of students.

The dining hall will be completely remodeled to move away from an institutional feel. There will be lounge-style seating, contemporary design, and French doors that will open to a patio with outdoor eating.

Proposed floor plan. Click image for larger view.

An ample supply of clearly-marked options will be available for special diets, including for vegetarians and vegans.

Caine Student Center will now be home to a Jazzman’s cart, a smaller version of Jazzman Café, an upscale coffee house offered exclusively by the company.

In addition, the Adrian-Tobias Room adjacent to the main dining hall will be upgraded, with new seating and a higher-quality feel.

Next year, a Quiznos is planned for Caine, in addition to touch-screen ordering and an even greater expansion of food options.

Overall, dining choices will accommodate two common characteristics of almost all college students: they’re always in a hurry, and they like to eat at all times of the day.