The Atrium will close for serving on Dec. 10 and not reopen until Jan. 10.  University Dining staff will work during the break to move equipment.

According to Jennifer Gilmore, marketing and communications with University Dining, there are several different things that are going to happen before the Atrium reopens in January.

“We need to switch the construction fencing to where it closes off the old temporary serving area while we renovate it and give access to the new serving area,” Gilmore said. “Second, we need to begin moving cooking and serving equipment into its new space in the new serving area.”

In order to stay on schedule, Gilmore said, University Dining will start these changes on Dec. 10.

“Many University Dining staff will be working during the holidays while the University is officially closed to ensure we are ready to re-open at the beginning of the spring semester,” Gilmore said. 

The Atrium will reopen for a preview party on Jan. 9, and then to the entire University on Jan. 10 for breakfast, according to Gilmore. 

“We wanted to do something really fun for the opening of the new serving area, so we came up with the idea of throwing a preview party the night before and inviting a select number of students to come,” Gilmore said. 

Gilmore said Randy Lait, University Dining director, came up with the idea of Golden Tickets for the preview party. 

“We have 100 tickets circulating at the C-stores.  Students who purchase a 20 ounce drink will have the change to scratch a ticket and see if they won,” Gilmore said.  “We will also give away a few at Night Owl, the Bookstore will have a few to giveaway as well, since their Wolf Xpress Copy Service is located in the Atrium, too.”

Night Owl is an exam-break event University Dining will hold at Fountain Dining Hall from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Dec. 7 thru Dec. 9.

“What I really like about the promotion is that winners will be able to take one friend with them, just like in the Willy Wonka Movie, so it will be very exciting to pick a friend to come along,” Gilmore said. 

According to Gilmore, University Dining created 8,000 scratch off tickets.  So far, 15 have been won.

“I expect there will be a lot this week, because we were closed much of last week,” Gilmore said.

The changes in the Atrium will be noticeable, according to Gilmore. 

“Bear in mind that it is still a small space, but it will definitely be a more modern space that has been designed to provide our diners with a lot of freshly made options,” Gilmore said. “There will be many staple items that diners can count on every day, plus a rotating menu that adds even more variety and gives everyone something to look forward to.”

Gilmore said she had the opportunity to taste one of the rotating pastas.

“I taste tested the chicken alfredo the other day, and I know that’s something I can look forward to on Mondays,” Gilmore said.  “Of course, the Chick-fil-A is much bigger and will have its own queue, and the waffle fries will be in full force.”

According to Gilmore, there is the chance that the Atrium will not pass inspection and be unable to open on Jan. 10.

“If all goes as planned, we will be open on the first day of classes.  The only thing that could cause a delay is if the inspector finds something that needs to be remedied before we can open,” Gilmore said.  “He or she is not coming until Jan. 6, so that does not give us a lot of time to react.  That said, we feel very confident that everything is being done according to plan.”