New food options coming to campus in the Fall

A recent TNL investigation found that many students feel unsatisfied with the food options on campus and would like to see more variety. To learn more about what is in store for food on campus, TNL spoke with Executive Director for Campus Services David Weaver and Seawolf Dining Program Director Trenten Hall. Sitting in the Creekside Eatery, Weaver and Hall discussed the state of on campus dining and the troubles that they have encountered in trying to improve the situation.

“I think one of our struggles compared to when I was a student here,” said Hall, who has served as the Seawolf Dining Director since the fall of 2022 , “is the attendance is down … which has kind of made it hard to open up to more [dining] concepts.”

Weaver said that there is less demand because many students shifted to taking online courses during the pandemic and have stayed online since.

Weaver said that a few years ago, the campus was “full” and “bustling.” He says that now “because there’s less demand for coffee [and] there’s less demand for hot soups and other things, it’s given us a challenge.”

Both Weaver and Hall said that breaking even has been one of the main causes of concern. 

“… we either have to open up [dining options] and then not [generate] enough money to break even – so it’s costing the university, and ultimately students money – or just not have them open. And so, we’ve tried to find a middle ground where … we’re just trying to be really cost-effective, but keep our venues open,” said Weaver.

With this main concern out of the way, Weaver went on to address the sizable list of food and dining plans that Campus Services has in the works.

One of these plans is to install two “pizza ATM machines” on campus. These machines will be filled with fresh pizzas that are reheated on demand with induction oven technology.

“Don’t think Hot Pocket, don’t think microwave – this is new technology. They [the pizzas] are fresh made by us. We’ll be able to do vegan, we’ll be able to do gluten-free, we’ll be able to do some sort of standard meat lovers … we’re very conscientious that many of our students are on a budget,” said Weaver. “We want to be able to offer hot food late night near the library, near the Student Union – in a way that students can afford.”

The pair also explained that three machines that are similar to the pizza atms will be installed on campus.

“I think they’re going to be really popular,” said Weaver, who mentioned a variety of other items that might be in the machines, such as breakfast burritos and several types of sandwiches.

“I think it’s going to be a way where we can offer cost-effective, healthy and comfort-type foods, depending on what a student wants, at a price that’s reasonable,” said Weaver.

Another point that Weaver and Hall touched on was the reopening of two cafes planned for the fall: Daily Grind in Cuddy Hall – which reopened and closed again this school year – and Aurora’s Brew in the Integrated Science building. “We’re also going through the process of changing [their concepts], like renaming them and having … a focus on Alaska Native culture,” said Hall.

“We’re working with … Native Student Services and the academic department, Alaska Native Studies, to help us make sure [that] if we rebrand and if we pay tribute or honor Alaska Native culture … we do that in a thoughtful and culturally appropriate way,” said Weaver. “We’re at the early stages of that conversation, but we hope to rebrand and change the names of those two.”

While the hours are not yet determined, Weaver said he would like to see “good, solid” hours for both cafes Monday through Thursday.

In response to complaints about café hours, Weaver said that they extended the operations of the Kaladi Brothers near the library by one hour at the beginning of this semester. “At the end of the day, we have to be thoughtful stewards of university resources … We try to come to the customer when there is demand – even just to break even,” said Weaver. “We have to be good stewards of the hours in a way that we’re not open when not enough people want a cup of coffee.”

Weaver said that “it’s challenging” to balance the needs of those living on campus with those of commuters. The challenge, Weaver explained, is that commuters’ time on campus is small and “sporadic.”

Even with these challenges, Weaver said that he and his team are “committed” to opening the two cafes.

They also want to open a new dining option next to Subway. “There’s a space that’s ready to go,” said Weaver. “Our plan is to create a menu of six or eight things we think we could do … and we’re going to shop that around to student leaders and others – primarily students – in the next four weeks before commencement, and kind of decide on something to open … that will give us time to build that out.”

They explained that filling that space is not a certainty due to the need for most campus cafes and dining options to be self-sufficient as they do not receive state or federal funding to operate.

However, Weaver expressed confidence that, with the right planning, it will be filled.

The Varsity Sports Grill in the Alaska Airlines Center should be opening for at least one night a week starting in the fall semester. Weaver said that the restaurant will offer “beer and wine for our students and community members who are 21 and over – consistently next semester, one day a week. So, we’re going to start small … specific, set hours, just come in, have an appetizer … get a beverage of your choice.”

Even with a drop in the overall student population, Hall said that the number of students on a meal plan is “basically back to where we were before Covid.” Because of this, students can expect the Creekside Eatery in the residential campus to be a better experience come the fall semester.

“For our students living on campus … we hired a new executive chef … we’ve made a commitment to the greatest extent possible to use fresh and locally grown vegetables. So, dinner here is actually quite good and we actually have plans, for fall ‘23, to take the next step,” said Weaver. “We’ve been doing action stations where we set out – here among the students eating – several chefs and they hand prepare [dishes].”

Hall said that increased staff capacity has allowed for food that tastes better and is more creative at the Creekside Eatery.

Weaver also said that they would like to add at least one more day to the Creekside Eatery’s late-night dining program, which currently provides meals on Sundays and Mondays from nine to ten in the evening, in order to allow more students to enjoy it.

“I can’t wait to see what happens for fall,” said Weaver. “I think it’s going to be the biggest positive change in campus dining from point A to point B – point A being this spring [and] point B next fall – this campus has seen in a long time.”