Dining Services Looking to add to Campus Dish Repertoire

As Longwood students patiently await the arrival of the highly anticipated Chik-Fil-A and Moe's Grille to the Landings apartments sometime this summer, Longwood's Dining Services has other plans in store as well to add to campus's dining options. In the form of a campus convenient store, Director of Dining Services Grant Avent hopes to offer students a location where they can get everything from food, to medicines and toiletries.

With the addition to an estimated 14-1,500 square foot convenient store facility that would be available to students between the hours of 11 a.m. through midnight, Avent believes students and the rest of the lancer community would be better equipped for the needs and resources necessary to enhance student life.

Vice President of Student Affairs Tim Pierson said that the plan for a new convenient store originated several years ago when the university started looking at ways to expand student's needs beginning with the Health and Wellness Center. "We're looking to expand all of our campus offerings," said Pierson. "Besides just health and wellness options like the new playing fields over in Lancer Park, we're also looking for ways of how our dining services can keep up with the desires and demands of students."

Many issues still need to be taken care of however before any construction plans can begin. Besides the obvious question of when the project can be expected, Avent says a proper establishment for the facility needs to be located. "We've been looking at two different locations," Avent explained. "We're looking at both the recreation room in the bottom of the student union, and also the Annex room in Dorill Dining Hall as well."

Avent and Pierson both agree that the decision on a proper location is a tough one, and many other factors will go into the decision as well. "In our original discussions, we looked at the lower level of the union in the café," said Pierson. "But if you've eaten in the café you know that there isn't much space down there at all." Avent also noted problems with the location in the union yet in different regards.

"There's a lot of problems with that building which is why a new student union has also been in our discussions as well," said Avent. "It just didn't make sense to go forth with that plan when a whole new facility is in the works for the near future."

The other location looked at by the university was in Dorill Dining Hall, in what is currently the Annex room, the large dining area connected with the cafeteria where many of the university's banquets are held. "We looked at the Annex room as a potential location because it is very centrally located," said Pierson. "With an entrance right off of Brock Commons, which we all know is a highly populated area throughout the course of a day, the Annex room location seems ideal."

Avent also said the Annex room was practical location, but believes that weighing their options was the best decision in due time.

"We looked at the Annex room and though it might be a feasible location, yet we questioned if it was the right or best location," Avent explained. "We don't want to just force something for the sake of doing it, so waiting to see what the new student union will offer was what we decided as the best idea for now."

Pierson further included that money is always an issue with every campus project, and needs to be taken into careful consideration as well. For such things like teachers salaries, which he explained as "E&G servies or "education and general," money is given from the state to support such services. However, assets such as parking, housing, and dining work a little differently. "Dining is an auxiliary service, which means it has to be self-supporting," said Pierson. "So we have to be really careful where we invest these dollars and evaluate whether it's a good investment to put this store in the Annex room when we're going to be building out a new union where more efficient space could be better allocated."If all else fails, Pierson explained that there are other possibilities. "We are currently renovating the upper-level of Blackwell which we anticipate being open next year," said Pierson. "There are some problems with the basement being accessible, but if we get the kind of renovations that will open that up that is another definite possibility as well."

Avent says the only issue with the old-bookstore located inside of Ruffner Hall is that the newly issued fire codes won't permit food sales. And in order to fix the problem, it would cost an estimated 500,000 dollars to make the building "fire code ok."

Though many feel a convenient store is a necessary addition to Longwood's campus as soon as possible, Avent says they don't want to push anything into plan too soon without the proper preparation. "We've got the money," said Avent. "And believe it or not, a convenient store is a fairly easy project that we feel like could open whenever the time is right. We're just going to wait and see the impact of Chik-Fil-A and Moe's and what happens with the new student union center." Offerings besides just health and wellness options like the new playing fields over in Lancer Park,"

Others however feel that time is of the essence, and see no reason for wasting any time on the issue. "I don't think waiting is a good idea at all," explained Aramark employee Deanna Verschaere. "It's bogus nonsense if they think a convenient store and Chik-Fil-A or Moe's will have any impact on each other. This is something that students need and will be more beneficial to them than any restaurant."

Verschaere also believes that the best location for the much needed convenient store would be most appropriate to fit in right with the café and that the business of the union would not be affected in return. "Most young students are looking for a place to hang out, and the café offers students a place to do that up until midnight" said Verschaere. "Most all of what we offer here (in the café) is meal types of food, and I don't see that business being altered by the type of product a convenient store would offer."