The food court restaurant selection offered in the McGlothlin Campus Center could change as early as this fall.
The Hilton Food Court may undergo a change after recent news that Dining Services is considering phasing out some of the current restaurants for more popular dining concepts.
“Dining is constantly being evaluated to be sure that we are identifying the expectations of those that we serve, those being the students,” said Anthony Williams, chief business services officer.
Dining Services evaluates the numerous dining and vending options on campus through questionnaires that students fill out.
“We collect about 1,500 surveys a year that tell us how we’re doing and also identifies things that are blind to us when we’re asking,” Williams said.
Chelsea Oguagha, sophomore biblical text and ministry major from Houston, said she thinks the food court would be improved if more diverse options were offered.
“I do like the Pizza Hut in the food court, but I would love to see some sort of Asian cuisine,” Oguagha said. “Abilene has a lot of Mexican food restaurants, but there aren’t a lot of Asian food places around campus, I think diversifying the food court would be a good idea.”
Dining Services’ decision to change the current food options in the Campus Center will also be influenced by information from their partner, ARAMARK.
“ARAMARK has additional data based on nationwide input and trends that, coupled with the research we’re doing on our campus, will provide us with a good directive in which we will proceed,” Williams said.
There are no concrete plans as to what Dining Services will choose if they replace any of the current food court concepts, but there are some front-runner suggestions from student surveys.
“One thing that has existed really in the last two years, is the desire for a Mexican food concept, as well as an Asian food concept,” Williams said. “These are very broad suggestions, so the exercise that we’re going through now is how we will identify concepts that would be consistent with what students are telling us they want.”
Even if changes will be made to the food court, it is not likely that students will hear an update before the end of the semester.
“We are still sifting through the data, so we’re unlikely to announce anything in the next few weeks,” Williams said. “However, by the end of May, we may have come up with a concept change if the data says that we need it.”
