UT Campus Dining’s official Web site tells students to “eat on your schedule,” but due to semester changes, students may find themselves bending to UT dining’s schedule more and more. But with new schedule cutbacks come new UT dining locations and greater flexibility with UT meal plans.
Starting this semester, the All-American Grill closes at 10:30 p.m. daily. Previously, the Grill closed at midnight Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. At the same time, meal equivalency has extended at the Grill from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Now students can use meal plans to eat at the Grill locations until closing time.
Mary Leslie Patterson, marketing director for UT dining, said the decision was based on student participation after 10:30 p.m. at the Grill.
“Looking at sales based on time of day, it slows down, business in the Grill slows down after 10:30,” Patterson said. “... We looked at hours; we looked at the people coming through, and it really dropped off after 10:30.”
Patterson said she wasn’t sure what the reasoning was behind this — whether it was a lack of meal equivalency during that time or that students are engaged in other activities at that time.
Even with the extended hours, the Grill now stands as the only location on campus after 7:30 p.m. where students can use meal equivalency. Based on what UT dining has heard from the students so far, Patterson said it fits the students’ needs.
“We would be open to student feedback to let us know if they’d like to change that,” Patterson said. “Like I said before, what we look at is participation rates, and if they’re not coming, we need to know why, and we need to change it to accomodate their schedules. Like with adding dinner at Sophie’s on Sunday evening. We added that, and the students do come. It was something that they requested, a change that we made for them, and it turned out to be a positive change.”
Meal equivalency at campus convenience stores — Greve Grocery, Hess Grocery, Andy’s Pantry in the Apartment Residence Hall, The Sweet Tooth in Presidential Court and The Pod Market in Laurel Hall — ends at 7:30 p.m.
Meal equivalency also ends at 7:30 p.m. at the Quizno’s Sub Shop in Andy’s Pantry. The Quizno’s Volunteer Hall location does not offer meal equivalency, but Patterson said it could be an option in the future.
In addition to the changes to the Grill’s operation, Smokey’s Cafeteria no longer serves dinner. Instead, Rocky Top Cafe offers meal equivalency now for dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Patterson said.
“Smokey’s, their numbers were low as far as participation, people coming in for dinner,” Patterson said. “And I think a lot of it has to do with whether there’s anything going on in the University Center. A lot of times, that depicts how many people we’re going to see at the University Center. And people like the brands (at Rocky Top Cafe).”
Students were surveyed at Smokey’s last semester, asking what they liked and disliked about Smokey’s and what changes they would want in the future. Patterson said the results of this survey were taken into consideration.
Specific meal plan combinations at Rocky Top Cafe are available at the Jump Asian Express and Sbarro.
While some UT dining locations are changing hours, others are opening for the first time. New UT dining locations on campus are Smoothie King in Volunteer Hall and Einstein Bros. Bagels in the James A. Haslam II Business Building.
Deepa Dave, junior in philosophy and biology and a Vol Hall resident, said she appreciated the convenience and prices of the new Quizno’s and Smoothie King at Volunteer Hall.
“I really love having Smoothie King and Quizno’s here,” Dave said. “Then I can just have Smoothie King for breakfast, and if I’m tired, I can just get Quizno’s on the way back to the dorm. But I don’t really go there that much because I have to use my dining dollars there because I can’t use my meal plan.”
Meanwhile, the Chick-Fil-A in the Grill will soon offer breakfast, Patterson said.
“We’re waiting for one more piece of equipment to bake the biscuits, and then Chick-Fil-A will come in and train our employees and our managers,” Patterson said. “And I’m hoping we’ll open the first week of February and serve chicken biscuits. It’ll be a really limited menu.”
Patterson also said campus restaurants will look to implement more themed events. One such upcoming event is an inauguration celebration on Tuesday at the Presidential Court Cafe. The restaurant will offer President-elect Barack Obama and running mate Joseph Biden’s favorite foods. For Obama, the restaurant will offer spinach maria, steamed broccoli and shrimp and grits. For Biden, chicken pot pie and baked spaghetti will be offered.
Patterson said UT dining is constantly looking at the student body’s wishes.
“As we see the students change throughout year to year, and they do change, we try to accomodate the needs based on each group,” Patterson said. “Because a lot of times they are different from each year. So we have focus groups, and we survey the students.”
Students can send feedback to UT dining by filling out the feedback form at UT dining’s Web site at http://www.utdining.com.