The Real Food on Campus cafeteria in Oberholtzer Hall will remain open for the fall semester because the new dining hall construction was delayed.
“Delays were due to unforeseen underground utilities encountered below the building foundation as well as more than 30 working days of rain delay,” said Esmeralda Valdez, executive director of Auxiliary Services. “However, to their credit, the contractor has worked most weekends for the past three months to mitigate.”
Computer science sophomore Bassem Elghetany prefers the OB compared to the Moody Towers Dining Hall and is pleased that it will stay open.
“I really like that the OB is still open. It provides a nice, relaxing atmosphere. It’s quite more relaxed than Moody, which is all formal and stuff. And it’s really nice to just go and hang with friends at OB,” Elghetany said. “Well at OB it’s more of the casual foods — the pizza, the hamburgers, the stuff like that. At Moody it’s more like you have to sit down, grab a fork.”
There will be some alterations to the OB’s facility since it will be open longer than expected. The cash register, serving area and seating area will be moved into a multipurpose room that was previously used as an extension to the original dining hall.
The convenience store in Oberholtzer Hall will be be closed, but alternatives have been made available.
“The Cougar Village store will be open until 1:00 a.m. most nights, and we have just added a new convenience store at the Stadium Garage that can also take care of the west side of campus,” Valdez said.
The new dining hall will not be a reflection of the OB. It will have a reinvented menu that is similar to the dining hall in Moody Towers.
“The menu for the new dining hall will considerably change in terms of variety and cooking methods,” Valdez said. “An action station with an international flare will be introduced; pizza will be served out of a brick oven, and the dessert station will feature an open baking concept allowing for a great visual and a magnetic appeal.”
Students will not have to wait long for the new dining hall to open. “The new dining hall will be open in the near future. As of now, we are anticipating being open on Oct. 1,” Valdez said.
