More Players on the Food Court

This semester, freshmen might not be the only ones packing on the pounds. That’s because the Student Center Food Court has recently added three new restaurants: Cinnabon, Taco Bell Express and Express Bag Lunch. Upon

This semester, freshmen might not be the only ones packing on the pounds.

That’s because the Student Center Food Court has recently added three new restaurants: Cinnabon, Taco Bell Express and Express Bag Lunch.

Upon entering the SC Food Court, one is more than likely to be met by a more-than-welcome “corner bakery” scent wafting up their nostrils.

If you were to take the advice of Toucan Sam and “follow your nose,” you would find yourself on the far side of the Food Court, at the recently opened and very popular Cinnabon.

Feel free to go there for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or whenever you just feel like treating yourself.

The sweet smell of cinnamon and freshly baked dough almost helps you forget how long you will probably have to wait in line.

But whether you plan to buy either a single or a multi-pak of the regularly sized desserts, or their “mini” counterparts, these sweet treats are pricey, and will quickly use up your meal allotment.

Lines at the Taco Bell Express always tend to be a bit long.

But with a decent variety of foods from which to choose, many believe the long lines are worth the wait.

“I’m glad [the Student Center] came to their senses this year,” said sophomore Jeffrey Hagues.

“I wasn’t feelin’ the last attempt of Mexican [cuisine] they had.”

And for the kids that get a little homesick, the Express Bag Lunch offers a quick and simple lunch almost as good as Mom used to make.

One meal includes your choice of sandwich, a small salad, a beverage, a piece of fruit and a bag of chips.

Consequently, the newest additions to the SC are not the only new “food kids on the block.”

All over campus, eateries are being opened, including the Atrium Cafe in Annenberg and Tomlinson Halls and the Togo’s Sandwiches/Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo on Liacouras Walk.

Dwayne Shaw, a junior, said, “New additions?

They’re cool; I can stomach it … better than some stuff we’ve had before.”

Dining services director of marketing Chandler Gotschlich says that “[Food Services] tries to pick food options with a wide variety of choices that have familiar names and tastes that students have already grown to love.”

However, a lot of these choices don’t seem to be always the healthiest options.

Granted, college students are always on the go and need to be able to eat quickly and get on with their lives.

But they also need an opportunity to give their bodies proper fuel to be able to withstand the challenges of their busy lives.

While some students are satisfied with the food choices on campus, others may crave more wholesome options.

No matter which opinion you agree with, there will be an answer to your prayers coming soon.

Dining services plans to post comment and response boards nearby some of the restaurants so students will have a chance to voice their opinions.

These boards will have cards on the “comment” side that students can fill out and post.

The manager of that location will be responsible for responding to that comment and posting it on the “response” side of the board.

These boards can be found in the SC Food Court, J&H Restaurant, Ambler Food Court, Tyler Dining Center, and the Market Place on the Health Services campus by the end of the month.

Gotschlich says that the first step to either continuing the good dining experience or improvements upon what already exists will be student feedback.

He encourages students to “feel free to post comments on the board.

If you’re not comfortable with that, there are usually managers at all of our locations.

We are really approachable people, so feel free to come up to us and tell us what you think.

[Dining services] is here to ensure that Temple students enjoy an overall good dining experience, and we want to make that happen as much as possible.”


Tiffany Glover can be reached at Glovabull@aol.com

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*