ETSU’s Dining Hall is continuing the momentum from the beginning the semester with more enhanced menus and events.
Associate Vice President for Student Life and Enrollment Sam Mayhew and Dining Hall General Manager Kelvin Tarukwasha shared the updates.
This semester’s major change to the Dining Hall is the Quick Fix station that operates as a build-your-own. Meals there include a grilled cheese sandwich bar, a potato bar and a taco bar. The allergy station has improved in quality and choices, partly due to the new hire of Executive Chef Lyndsey Nelson. “She was in the health care environment before this, so she is very keen on making sure that we are doing a good job in that area,” said Tarukwasha.
A focus has been on improving the late-night menus. Meals included seafood, steak and fried chicken. Tarukwasha shared that Fried Chicken Fridays will begin soon. A lot of the changes stem from the Student Culinary Council which works hand in hand with the dining hall. “Small changes are really driven by the feedback we get from students, happy or not, through the Culinary Council,” said Tarukwasha.
Tarukwasha shared that the Dining Hall hopes to continue featuring restaurants from the community, like White Duck Taco. “Our goal is to have at least four restaurants that will partner with bringing them into the Dining Hall to feature their culinary skills and to assemble their food to our students,” said Tarukwasha.
Partnerships with campus groups such as SGA and RHA will continue with events like the pancake breakfast at the end of each semester. Another event is a Veteran’s Day celebration which will be in collaboration with the Office of Equity and Inclusion. Another featured event is a traditional Thanksgiving meal offered the week before the holiday.
In the beginning of the semester, Pepper’s Food Truck was introduced outside of Treehouse Takeout. Mayhew shared that the physical location of Pepper’s will open in the old Subway during the first week of classes in January. Students will be able to use their meal swipe for various food options like sandwiches, wraps, burgers and wings.
Mayhew and Tarukwasha are looking forward to the opening of Pepper’s along with continuing to improve the Dining Hall. “The ability to have something for everyone is really key,” said Mayhew. “Kelvin and his team are always trying to change things up and keep it fresh and active.”
