New retail dining locations open in student center

With the opening of the newly renovated D.P. Culp Student Center on Feb. 24, a host of new dining options became available to students, including some classic campus favorites.  

“We’re really excited to have everything open, and happy to have more students, faculty and staff in the building,” said Bethanie Dye, marketing specialist for Sodexo. “It’s nice for the whole building to be alive again, because this is one of the central hubs of campus, and it’s nice to see it wake back up after the construction.”

With the opening of the Culp Center, six locations became available to students on the first floor: Mein Bowl, Roger’s Buc Mart, Boar’s Head Deli, Steak ‘n Shake, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

“Mein Bowl is through our company, Sodexo, and it’s something different to bring that hasn’t been on campus in a while,” said Dye. 

Mein Bowl serves fresh-made sushi and other Asian staples such as honey chicken and customizable poke bowls. Mein Bowl is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Roger’s Buc Mart is a convenience store located in the Culp Center that has all the staples, including candy bars, energy drinks, microwaveable dishes and cereal. Inside Roger’s Buc Mart is Boar’s Head Deli, which serves freshly made sandwiches using Boar’s Head’s own brand of meats and cheeses.

“In addition to being able to buy sandwiches, you’re also going to be able to buy their meats by the pound,” said Dye.

Both Roger’s Buc Mart and Boar’s Head Deli will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

Steak ‘n Shake is a familiar option on campus, with a Steak ‘N Shake food truck serving students during the renovation of the Culp Center, but the new retail location features extended hours, with the location being open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The new location will also feature an extended menu, which allows students to enjoy more of what makes the chain famous – milkshakes.

“They have all of their novelty milkshakes,” said Dye. “We have one dedicated line just for milkshakes, so if students or faculty and staff want to come and just get a milkshake, they don’t have to wait in the regular line, they can just go to the milkshake line.”

Chick-fil-A is another student favorite. Located on the second floor prior to the renovation of the Culp Center, Chick-fil-A now resides on the first floor and is back and ready to serve students its classic menu with hours on Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Chick-fil-A is obviously a very popular area, so we definitely wanted to work with them to bring it back,” said Dye.

Starbucks has also returned to the Culp Center to serve students with new, longer hours.

“Starbucks is a big staple here with the students, the faculty and the staff, so we wanted to bring Starbucks back but bigger and better and with larger scale service to meet the need that we have here on campus,” said Dye. “So, especially looking at its hours of operation, we wanted to make sure it was going to meet the needs of students that are here for evening classes and faculty and staff that are teaching evening or very early morning classes.”

Starbucks is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. until midnight, Friday from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Along with the new hours, Starbucks also has a new, full-service menu.

“With Starbucks, you can use your Starbucks app, and it serves everything like the specialty drinks that come out,” said Dye. “It can also do cold brew and the nitro cold brew, which is something not all the locations have. It’s a much larger menu now.”

Alongside the new retail dining locations, which are all located on the first floor of the Culp Center, the dining hall will remain open for students on the third floor with hours from 7 a.m. until midnight every day.

Dye said she is excited about the opening of the Culp Center and the role dining plays in it.

“The Culp Center is a place for students to come hang out, study, and we want the dining experience to be part of that,” said Dye. “Whether it’s up in the dining hall and they’re plugging laptops in and having study groups, or downstairs on the first floor over at Starbucks reading for English class, we want to be part of that on-campus experience, especially with the new Culp Center, the new facilities and the new opportunities. We share in the excitement of having everything back.”