Many dining locations have closed for the fall semester due to a reduced student population. For the locations that remained open, their hours have been modified, and some services have changed. Most of NC State’s dining services are now centralized in Talley Student Union.
Because all of the dining halls on Central Campus have closed, One Earth World Cuisine has been converted into a dining hall of sorts. Jennifer Gilmore, director of communications for Campus Enterprises, said while the dining location still maintains their Asian and Mediterranean dishes, homestyle dishes usually found in dining halls are now available at One Earth.
One Earth now uses the dining hall meal swipes, so students with a Flex Plan can eat there as often as they want.
According to Gilmore, On The Oval is still open on Centennial Campus. All of the food vendors are open, but students and staff must pick up their meals from Gravity Cafe. Terrace Dining Room at Lonnie Poole Golf Course and Port City Java locations are also still open at reduced hours.
While fewer students are eating on campus, NC State Dining is still making modifications to suit their needs. For example, they extended One Earth’s operations hours from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. between Monday and Thursdays, and they made the 1887 Bistro available for dinner.
Due to most students moving back home because of the pandemic, NC State Dining has seen a loss of revenue. Shawn Hoch, senior director of hospitality services, said NC State lost around 80% of students on meal plans compared to the fall semester of 2019, and the revenue from retail and catering services are down by 90%. To save cost, NC State had to close down and modify their services.
“We are trying to be as efficient as possible reducing operating expenses,” Hoch said. “And so, when you have less square footage to eat … it’s easier to maintain a smaller staff footprint.”
According to Hoch, NC State Dining moved a majority of its services to Talley Student Union because it has a commissary kitchen, which makes it easier for staff to prepare and store food.
In addition to closing multiple dining locations, Hoch said they had to lay off some staff members, mainly students and temporary workers. Full-time employees or those students with academic requirements, like internships or work experience, are still employed with NC State Dining.
NC State is also taking precautions to protect their employees and consumers against the pandemic. Outside of wearing protective gear and sanitizing surfaces constantly and students and staff are using Grubhub to order their meals to reduce contact. Another protective measure includes using separate lines for different types of food, like homestyle or on the grill, as well as pick-up containers.
Currently, there are no plans to reopen more restaurants on campus for the remainder of the semester.
To see the dining locations that are currently open on campus, visit the NC State Dining website. Students and staff can provide feedback to NC State Dining by emailing them at dining@ncsu.edu.
