The Refinery brings allergy-friendly options to Piazza

LUKE NELSON Staff Writer

Dining options at Piazza have heated up this semester with the addition of The Refinery. This new allergen-free station has replaced The Wok. It offers a wide variety of meals which are conscious of the top nine allergens most commonly found in food: milk, eggs, nuts, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame.

This new menu includes several meats such as chicken breast, pork chops, pork loin, different types of ham and beef. It also serves roasted vegetables among other sides. The menu is expected to grow as the semester continues.

While this station is specifically designed for allergen-free foods, the meals are available to all students. “It’s important for everyone to know they can get food there,” Assistant Director of Residential Dining Sara Eberle said. She expressed her concern that people may assume The Refinery is exclusive- ly available to visitors with allergies. Due to the method of which the food is served, everybody can enjoy meals The Refinery has to offer.

Although the Wok station at Piazza was popular, it was hard to sustain. Due to understaffing issues, Piazza could not effectively operate the wok. Eberle explained that in order to keep the wok open, “you need three to four student staffers working it.” She described it as “hard to operate without extra hands.”

The Refinery works a little differently than other stations at Piazza. Assistant Director of Marketing & Conferences Annie Karr described how The Refinery works. “You will get