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Courtyard Dining Hall opens
The upstairs all-you-care-to-eat venue and downstairs Starbucks Coffee Company and convenience store at the $17.6 million Courtyard Dining Hall are serving customers.
A chef makes pasta while customers watch.
Crews install the sign for Courtyard Dining Hall.
Students hang out at Starbucks at Courtyard Dining Hall.
Orientation counselor James Johnson picks up a snack at the Courtyard C-Store.
Starbucks Coffee Company opened at 7 a.m. Monday, June 29. The first customer arrived shortly thereafter and was soon followed by Chuck Wooten, vice chancellor for administration and finance.
“The opening of this building is something I have been looking forward to since construction began many months ago,” said Wooten, who treated himself to a skinny caffé latte with a shot of hazelnut. “This facility will allow us to offer our students a dining experience that is first class.”
A few hours later and a few dozen feet away, the Courtyard C-Store began selling beverages, snacks, cereal and other goods.
Then on Monday, July 6, food service staff members transitioned rapidly from serving lunch at Dodson Dining Hall to serving dinner at Courtyard Dining Hall. The all-you-care-to-eat venue features separate themed food stations, including a deli, a “home zone” with rotisserie items and traditional meats, potatoes and vegetables; an international grill; a pizza and pasta center; a dessert station; salad bar and a beverage center.
“It feels more like a restaurant,” said Andrew Rogers, a junior from Alpharetta, Ga. His lunch companion and fellow football player Matt Winter, a junior from Spartanburg, S.C., said he appreciated that the food was cooked right in front of customers. Other diners such as C.J. Johnson, a junior from Roswell, Ga., and Nate Harris, a sophomore from Apex, were impressed with the sense of openness.
Phil Sanger, director of the Center for Rapid Product Realization, complimented the dining hall’s modern, state-of-the-art atmosphere.
Closer to the start of the fall semester, additional venues will open in the 53,000 square-foot building including a McAlister’s Deli and a food court featuring Zoca, a Mexican-themed restaurant; Grille Works; Panda Express; and Freshens.
Upstairs, customers can use cash, credit or CatCards to purchase meals, which cost $5.50 for breakfast, $6.50 for lunch and $7.50 for dinner. Downstairs, cash or CatCards can be used, and credit cards will be accepted in the future.
John Crowe, an Aramark food service director working with Courtyard Dining Hall, said he was ecstatic with the opening so far. “We’re still pulling stuff out of boxes and ironing out details, but we are so excited and proud to be in this new building,” said Crowe.
Click here to go to the WCU Dining Services Web site.
John Crowe, an Aramark food service director working with Courtyard Dining Hall, is excited about the new facility.
WCU student Nate Harris likes the sense of openness in the new Courtyard Dining Hall.
Courtyard Dining Hall offers a salad bar as part of one of the themed stations.
Diners enjoy fresh pizza.
The Courtyard Dining Hall features tall windows, arches and outdoor seating.
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