G'Day Gourmet^TM

New Elon dining hall is out of the ordinary

September 17, 2007

Ever eat crab crakes in your college dining hall?

How about surf and turf or, for dessert, tiramisu?

Elon University students have those choices with the opening of the Colonnades Dining Hall. The two-floor, 24,000-square-foot facility opened this weekend.

Jeff Gazda is resident district manager for Aramark, which provides food services for Elon.
Gazda said the new facility reflects trends at other college campuses, such as an emphasis on variety, made-to-order food and more upscale choices. It also reflects the trend toward food being prepared in open kitchens.

But that’s not to say the dining facility is typical. Its uniqueness, Gazda said, is in its combination of features.

“As an entire operation,” he said, “this is one of a kind. There is nothing cookie-cutter about it.”

Gerald Whittington, one of Elon University’s vice presidents, said the building cost about $7 million. He said construction began about 18 months ago.

The facility includes a full-service restaurant called the 1889 Grill Room (that’s the year the univer-sity was founded) that serves steak, seafood and gourmet burgers.

An all-you-can-eat area called Isabella’s is named for the late Isabella Cannon, an Elon graduate who was mayor of Raleigh. It features a Mongolian grill and international cuisine ranging from Asian to Mexican.

Another all-you-can-eat section, called Tuscany, serves Mediterranean food, including pizzas baked in a wood-stone oven. Gazda said that section of the dining hall made 800 pizzas from Friday night to Sunday night.

A section called the Bread Basket has bread and desserts in addition to sandwiches and soups.

Downstairs, an area called the Fountain Market sells Boar’s Head sandwiches, meats and cheese. Students can also buy fresh tossed salads or organic products ranging from trail mix to chocolate bars.

For $2.29, they can buy a can of Australian tuna called G’Day Gourmet Tuna.

STUDENTS USE their meal cards for the all-you-can eat choices. They can use extra swipes for up-graded choices called “Upper Cuts” or for higher-scale choices in the 1889 Grill Room.

“How many campuses can you come in and, with meal-plan swipes, get surf and turf?” Gazda asked.

Aramark’s strategies are apparently succeeding at Elon. Gazda said 3,820 of about 5,000 under-graduates are on some type of meal plan. That’s about 1,000 more than the number of students who live on campus, he said. Students who live off campus aren’t required to be on a meal plan.

“Still trying to decide — a lot of options,” was Elon sophomore Sarah Galliher’s reaction after walk-ing into the Colonnades soon after noon on Monday. She was there with another sophomore, Brittany Pierce, who had already tried the pizza Saturday night.

The dining hall was built using “green” concepts such as insulation and ceiling tiles made partly with recycled materials. Unused food will be donated to charitable organizations.

There are no trays in the Colonnades Dining Hall, and trays are no longer used in other dining facili-ties on campus.

Gazda said comparisons done on campus showed students waste one-quarter to one-half pound less food per meal if trays aren’t used.

Gazda, who has worked in food service at Elon for 15 years, said when he started, there were two main cafeterias and a snack bar. Now there are about 12 dining choices. At least one is open from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.

At Wake Forest University, Connie Carson, assistant vice president for campus services and plan-ning, said almost all food served in the main dining room is prepared in front of students. That allows them to have dishes that are made to order.

The same trends are evident at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“We’ve got a wood-burning pizza oven in one of the dining halls,” said Scott Myers, who is director of dining and vending services.

He said some dining choices, such as sushi, would have been unheard of 10 or 20 years ago.