The women living in Woodworth will no longer have to trek across campus to eat, now that the Woodworth Commons is reopening this Fall after a two-year wait.
Students from all over campus and the Muncie community are welcome to join Woodworth residents at the seven innovative stations the dining area features.
"The Woodworth Commons was based around what the students wanted," Amy Grasso, the unit manager for Woodworth, said. "We conducted a lot of surveys and we listened to what the students wanted. We wanted our selection to display healthier food and have a warm, comfortable atmosphere."
Six of the seven stations are open from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, are:
Patisseries, which serves Starbucks coffee and espresso, as well as omelets, during the breakfast hours, and fresh pastries and deserts.
El Fire Dragon, a Mongolian grill, which serves Asian food over an open, circular grill daily, except on Tuesdays and Thursdays when it transforms into a Mexican grill for fajitas and quesadillas.
Della Cassa, meaning "from the house" which serves Italian style food including Italian salads, Tuscan vegetables, tiramisu, Panna water and fresh pizzas cooked in a wood-oven stove that serves as the station's focal point.
Woody's Grill, which provides special-order hamburgers, hot dogs and fries.
Comfort Zone, which features home-style food, including potatoes, green beans and roasted turkey.
Deli World, which serves salads where students pick what toppings they want, including vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, golden raisins and sunflower seeds, and the dressing is spun into the salad by the chefs, as well as wraps, paninis and other healthy food choices.
There are also multiple islands with pre-made food, as well as refrigerated shelves with beverages.
When the dining area closes at 7:30 p.m., students still have the option of Riverside Emporium, a convenience store that displays items on shelves backed on glass walls where students can see items from the outside.
The Emporium will be open from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Fridays and from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. It will be closed Saturdays.
The Emporium has grab-n-go cold sandwiches, fruit and salads and other grocery items.
"All prices are relative to other dining areas on campus, but Woodworth serves many different types of food at the seven stations that other campus dining areas don't serve," Grasso said.
The dining staff expects to serve about 1,200 people at lunch and at least 3,000 people total daily, according to a university press release.
With that many people being served, the dining staff encourages Web ordering at four of the stations, where students can order their food online and fifteen minutes before they want to pick it up the chefs will cook it and place it in warmers where they will be ready for pick-up.
"We're doing a lot of display cooking and cooking from scratch, which is different than many other locations on campus, so orders might take a little longer than they do at other locations around campus." Grasso said.
During the soft-opening at Woodworth the dining staff served 240 people from the Housing staff and only experienced about five-minute waits on food at locations such as El Fire Dragon.
"At this point it's hard to predict the traffic flow [of students]," Jon Lewis, director of Campus Dining Services said. "We will do our best and make adjustments as we go."
Along with the wide selection of food, Woodworth features large dining areas that can seat 550 people, with barstool tables, soft furniture and televisions as well as private lounge with soft furniture and a fireplace.
Lewis said the Dining staff expects everything to be ready when Woodworth Commons is officially opened to students and the community this week.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
