Since the Culp Center renovation began, campus has seemed scattered, especially dining around campus.
Luckily, with the renovation being scheduled to be complete next spring, most dining locations will be back in one centralized place.
There will be new food chains with the new addition, including Starbucks, Steak N’ Shake, Boar’s Head Deli, Chick-Fil-A and Mein Bowl.
While I feel that most students will be happy with some of the choices, I think some of the selections are lacking.
For example, I think the Boar’s Head Deli was an especially poor choice because along with hotdogs, they will most likely serve sandwiches, and we already have several other sandwich places on campus: Subway, The Treehouse and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Unless Boar’s Head will be cheaper than the other options, I expect that people would rather go to Subway or another location for sandwiches.
They also decided to replace Taco Bell; while Taco Bell may not be the healthiest option, it was definitely the most budget-friendly chain we previously had.
In comparison, the new and current options are all generally much more expensive than many of the meal options at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell or a chain with a similar price point should have been included in the new chains to accommodate for the budget most patrons will have there.
However, I am pleased with the addition of Mein Bowl because I’ve felt that ETSU needed an Asian food chain on campus for several years now.
I am also glad that they are choosing to keep Chick-fil-A since it was a student favorite around campus and was one of the few places that used to be open for breakfast.
Overall, I wish a few of the food choices had been thought over more carefully, so we could have a wider variety as well as more affordable food options.
