Hospitality to renovate, add new

By AYNSLEY LARSEN L a

As the upcoming semester nears, Hospitality Services plans to open and renovate several oncampus dining locations, providing students with several new meal, snack and grab-and-go options.

Vida Editor but instead of being that same daily menu for the entire semester, we’re going to do a bi-weekly rotation,” Nguyen said. “For two weeks it’s going to be the same menu (Monday through Friday), and then the next two weeks is gonna be a menu refresh and some new items that we offer daily.”

The largest of the upcoming changes will be the opening of 23 at Sneed, a new dining hall set to feature eight different concepts, as well as locations to purchase prepackaged and grab-and-go food items.

“23 at Sneed is going to be a brand new, renovated dining facility,” Dee Nguyen, unit manager of recruitment and retention for Hospitality Services at Texas Tech, said. “It operates similar to a retail concept where students get breakfast, lunch, late night options at this facility, but they can (also) get their retail items.”

In addition to this new facility, Tech Hospitality will be upgrading and renovating pre-existing dining locations. The Fresh Plate, Tech’s great value dining facility, will be moving from the Bledsoe/Gordon residence hall to its new home at Wall/ Gates. The Fresh Plate will continue to offer allyou-care-to-eat breakfast, lunch and dinner options during the weekdays, as well as brunch during the weekends, Nguyen said, but also will be making several operational changes. “Conceptually, it’s going to be a little bit different. It will still have daily rotation options …

The Mediterranean dining location Second to Naan, previously at the Student Union Building (SUB) Sam’s Place, is relocating to The Commons at Talkington Hall. Second to Naan will be replaced at the SUB with a Mexican food dining option, and The Commons is welcoming a new ramen concept.

Further, Quiznos no longer will be available on the Tech campus. The newly named Burkhart Cafe will offer Boar’s Head Deli sandwiches and thin crust pizza in its place.

“We’re expanding the Boar’s Head Deli product. It’s gonna be served at the Burkhart Cafe; I’m also excited to share that Sam’s Place West is going to feature Boar’s Head Deli,” Nguyen said.

Boar’s Head Deli will remain available at the SUB in addition to these two new locations.

Lastly, Tech Hospitality is adding a Starbucks to the SUB.

“It’s going to be bigger and better than the one at Honor’s Hall,” Nguyen said. “(There will be the) full menu at the Starbucks at the Student Union Building.”

This new Starbucks will be located next to Sam’s Place SUB. With the opening of these new and renovated dining locations, new student job opportunities will also become available throughout Texas Tech Hospitality. All Hospitality locations are hiring for the upcoming school year, offering benefits including work for board, scholarships and flexible scheduling.

Many of the upcoming changes are the result of student feedback, Nguyen said. Tech Hospitality utilizes focus groups and student surveys to ensure that campus dining remains updated and relevant for students.

“Texas Tech University always strives to be innovative, and we’re a part of that,” Nguyen said. “We want to make sure that dining is dynamic, that we’re not stagnant, that we’re listening to our students. Continuing to … push the boundaries of the culinary industry on campus, to be one of the best collegiate dining programs I think is why we continue to make these changes.”

Tech Hospitality hopes and plans to have these changes implemented dur- ing this upcoming fall semester. Updates on hours of operation and the openings of these locations can be found on the Tech Hospitality website, as well as their various social medias and on The Daily Toreador website.

“We’re really pushing the boundaries when it comes to culinary diversity and kind of expanding our students’ palettes out here in West Texas,” Nguyen said. “(We’re) trying to make sure that our students have a diversified, exciting, delicious dining experience while they’re here to fuel their education.”

@AynsleyLarsenDT