Lipscomb Dining may not be promoting any new restaurants or redesigns for the fall semester, but a few developments here and there have solidified the idea that campus’ dining department is always open to change.
Dining General Manager Wolcott Fary says that not much is different at the Bennett Campus Center food court this semester, but he did have a few updates to share.
For example, popular dining spot Far East Fusion has undergone a few adjustments.
“It used to be that they would pack everything into a bowl, stick it in the window and that would be it,” Fary said.
Fary said that he supplied Far East Fusion with new steam equipment to freshen the food. He also explained that the restaurant will now serve fresh food, and the students can order what they want. Because of this change, business for Far East Fusion has doubled, according to Fary.
While Blue Coast Burrito and Papa John’s have only utilized occasional specials, Chick-fil-A has added new salads.
But, one item that won’t be arriving at Chick-fil-A anytime soon are the legendary milkshakes.
Fary said that because the Chick-fil-A at Lipscomb is technically an express store, the corporate office decides what should be served at express stores. Therefore, unless the corporate office includes milkshakes in the express restaurants’ menus, the well-loved dessert won’t be coming to campus.
Fary said that Zebi is doing fine, but Auntie Anne’s has slowed down measurably from last year’s hype. He hopes to get the snack spot back to the fever pitch that it saw during the first few months of business.
“I think that we’ve got to think of some ways to be able to refresh what we’re doing and gain that interest back,” Fary said.
Fary said Starbucks is a bit of a different situation. Of course, each season brings its own special drink or food, but the summer months bring change to the store itself.
Starbucks’ corporate office takes an initiative to revamp each store every five years. If all works out well, the change to Lipscomb’s Starbucks will occur over next summer. The school does not want to bite more than it can chew with the renovations, so Fary said the refurnishing will have to be quick.
“How do you close down a place for a week or two weeks that everybody always expects to be open,” Fary rhetorically asked. “You have to pick the the right time of year when the fewest amount of people are here, make sure everybody knows and then you just have to bite the bullet and do it.”
When it comes to change, Fary said the dining service is not afraid to move forward with new initiatives.
“We’re obligated to try different things,” Fary said. “The university wants us to try different things. Sodexo wants us to try different things, and [we] need to do that anyway.”