The goal this year for Chartwells, the company that runs the cafeteria and the Rathskellar, was to give Quinnipiac more food options and to fix up the existing kitchen.
Over the summer, Chartwells did just that. The kitchen was completely gutted. “We got new equipment, like freezers in the back of the kitchen,” said Leean Spalding, the assistant director of dining services and member of Chartwells. “Everything in the kitchen is new. We wanted to become more efficient.”
Chartwells also changed the way that Quinnipiac students will eat in the Cafeteria. Three new programs have been added: Freshens, Au Bon Pain, and sushi.
Freshens is the new yogurt place in the cafeteria. It is located where Carvel was last year. This is the most successful addition to the Chartwells cafeteria program so far.
“There has been a huge line ever since it opened,” said Spalding. “The students seem to love it.”
At freshens, one can order anything from a smoothie to yogurt mixed with your favorite candy, to coffee flavored drinks. All drinks are made from fresh yogurt and fruit.
Another thing that makes Freshens special is the addition of boosters. A booster is a dietary supplement that can be added to your drink. The boosters are from a company called Metrx. Freshens carries memory, energy, protein, and fat-burner boosters.
Jenn Hardway, a junior liberal arts undeclared major, said, “Freshens offers these really delicious smoothies that are light and fruity. I know these are low in fat, unlike the Carvel ice-cream. The fat-burner booster is an added bonus.”
Au Bon Pain will be coming soon to the cafeteria. At this station, eight different soups will be served daily. This stand will be located where Java John and the coffee cart used to be, and Java John will be moved to the Freshens stand.
“We are the first school to get Au Bon Pain. It is a new program and they are in the process of making a plan for the construction of it. Chartwells actually bought the Au Bon Pain stand,” said Spalding.
Lastly, there is the addition of sushi to the menu. As of now, sushi will be served in the cafeteria regularly.
“The sushi is made fresh daily at a place off campus. The producer is a place called `I Love Sushi.’ It makes authentic sushi,” said Spalding.
Chartwells isn’t done fixing up our cafeteria. After this year, they will still be making changes to the dinning halls.
Chartwells wants to fix up the front of the cafeteria. They want to make it more efficient for the students. The main goal of this renovation is to cut down the lines that form so quickly at the busy eating times of the day.
The company also wants to add a wood-burning stove, so that wood burned pizza and strombolies can be made daily.
Chartwells has been putting up a lot of money so that the cafeteria can be better for the staff and students at this institution.
The new kitchen alone cost $800,000, while the Freshens stand was about $50,000. In total, Chartwells has spent about $1,050,000 on the renovations and the addition of new dishes.
The Landing Zone, located in the lower half of the Ratt, will now be serving breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The Ratt now delivers pizza, salads and subs from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. If interested, orders can be placed by calling x8347 and can be paid by meal points or Q- Cash.