Dining options on campus are always changing, improving and seeking success. This fall semester, Auburn Campus Dining introduced several new updates, and they seem to be doing well; however, there are still areas begging for improvement.
In the Melton Student Center, two dining spots were phased out and replaced. Flametown OG Chicken now stands where Bodda Burger used to be, and it has had 12.19% more transactions than its predecessor this semester. Similarly, Inked Tacos replaced Saladworks and has seen a 144.89% increase in transactions for the fall semester.
The Tiger Bread Company in Horton Hardgrave Hall was revamped and renamed “The Exchange.” Rollin’ Pepperoni food truck was added to the expansive group of daily concourse food trucks.
Business is good, but an increase in dining transactions is to be expected with the record-number of enrolled students this fall semester. Getting into the dining halls is a laborious experience, and overcrowding is an issue apparent to everyone.
“Every meal swipe we can pull out of the Edge at noon ... is a good one right now,” said Glenn Loughridge, director of Auburn Campus Dining.
To help with this overcrowding issue, a new dining experience, Foy on the Fly, was added to Foy Hall. This location accepts both dining dollars and meal swipes. It is now getting about 300 meal swipes per day, and it has made a reported 5,202 transactions in total this semester. This spot was slow to start, but it is gaining momentum. Campus Dining will be introducing a “Pizzabot” to the location soon.
There are several areas Campus Dining is looking to give attention to. On Thursday, Oct. 31, Loughridge gave a status update to the Presidents’ Council about the future of campus dining.
Including more C-Stores is a big part of the plan. Campus Dining will start using the ground floor of the Edge in March 2025 with a frictionless C-Store. They also report to be enhancing the Dudley Commons Drawing Board Cafe with a C-Store.
As for the rest of the ground floor of the Edge, Campus Dining is exploring retailers and actively looking for the best options to include, but there is not a concrete decision yet.
The new College of Education Building needs attention, and Loughridge spoke about its current state.
“We’re looking at options for the College of Education. There was nothing built into the building. It’s a pretty big building to not have any food in it, so we’re going to be working on that. Right now, we’re thinking about, well, we know we got to get coffee over there — obviously that’s a critical piece. But we’ll also be looking at having some food truck spots and doing some outdoor seating, things like that,” Loughridge said.
Outdoor seating is another component Campus Dining is incorporating to “entice” people outside and away from the crowded dining halls, as well as “fully utilize every square inch” of space available.
Campus Dining is making progress, but there are some unresolved issues they need to look into, such as dining options for students with allergies and later hours for students who need to stay on campus to do projects, such as students in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.
Rae Nawrocki, station manager of WEGL, talked about their experience having a gluten allergy and trying to find dining options on campus besides the overcrowded dining halls.
“For the stadium, if I’m ever buying concessions, I’m never able to buy real food. I can only buy chips or packaged goods that are not really filling. … At least from my personal experience, a lot of the grab-and-go stuff is often contaminated, even in C-Stores. Often the salads have croutons on top … even if they’re touching, I can’t have them,” they said.
Loughridge said it is “not a hard thing to put in,” and that Campus Dining understands the need to include allergen-free foods that are safe from cross contamination.
Jackson Reece, president of CADC student council, brought to attention the plight students in his program face.
“We spend pretty much our entire lives in that building. The past couple of days, I’ve been there until like 3 or 4 a.m.,” he said. Reece asked if any more food options could be introduced the "Dudley Dungeon," which is what CADC students call Dudley Hall because they "feel so isolated and underground."
Currently, students who stay late to do work lose dining options near them around 4 p.m. and all campus dining options at 10 p.m. when they close. Loughridge referenced the grab-and-go store currently in their building and said that Campus Dining “would like to make it 24-hours.” They also have a plan to potentially add shelves and upgrade the food options available over there.
Campus Dining appreciated the feedback from students, and they seek to do what’s truly best for the student body. Loughridge said to utilize SGA Auburn Answers for communicating needs, but also emailing dining@auburn.edu is a great option to ensure his team sees the feedback directly.
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Sami Grace Donnelly, senior in English literature, began writing for the Plainsman in the fall of 2021. She has served as a columnist, writer abroad, Opinion Editor, managing editor and is now Editor-in-Chief of the Plainsman.
