DXpress is undergoing renovations with goals of meeting student desires for healthier menu items and repairing service lines to increase speed of service.
The renovations were decided on by interest of the student body. The Dining Service has an electronic survey that is conducted year round from which they get feedback.
Rick Johnson, Director of Dining Services, made the final executive decision to carry out the renovations for the DXpress, but worked with the Student Government Association to measure student opinion.
"We helped create avenues for dining services to get valuable feedback," said SGA President Brandon Carroll.
He said a major focus was creating healthier choices for students.
"DX will have healthier "grab and go" options, which is something great in terms of moving Virginia Tech forward in a progressive, positive way," Carroll said. "I am glad that Dining Services listened to the students - it means a lot. There is a reason we have the best food in the country, one of them is the fact that Rick Johnson and his staff actively listen to the student body."
Ted Faulkner, the Associate Director for Dining Services, said many students were eager to offer suggestions.
"We do the table talk where we get feedback in all of our dining centers one day across campus where all of the students come up to tables and tell us anything and everything that is good or bad and what they would like to see change in dining," Faulkner said. "The SGA has come to us. We had dinner with about 20 student leaders in the spring. They are the voice of the students, so to speak."
Faulkner said there was a general consensus.
"We kept hearing from the students that they wanted to maintain the quick service in the DXpress that they enjoy but they wanted an extended menu," Faulkner said.
This is a new marketing platform called DX to Go. The plan is to extend the menu offerings by adding healthier items. There will be 29 new menu items.
"With the DX to Go program that we are starting, we want to give students the opportunity to have a quick meal but with healthier options," said Jenny Lindsey, Administrative Dietician for Dining Services. "We want to give them a healthier option, more whole grains, more vegetables, lower fat, and lower calories."
There will be new premade wraps available, including a fruit wrap, which has balsamic vinaigrette, strawberries, and spinach.
"The things that are considered a meal, like a wrap or a sandwich, we want to make sure are 600 calories or less," Lindsey said.
DXpress will offer individual segmented fruit cups while still maintaining the mixed fruit cup.
In the new menu options, there are no trans fats and little to no saturated fats.
The fats will be healthier fats such as olive oil. The calories from fat must be no more than 30 percent of the total calories.
To make room for the larger menu, shelving units had to be placed inside of DX.
Some bottled drinks also had to be moved to another area.
Meal plans will now be used to buy a token. That token will be used to buy carbonated beverages or water in a room off to the side of the seating area.
This room will contain three vending machines that will only take the tokens.
Renovations are aimed at increasing efficiency and decreasing the amount of time it takes a student to get food from DXpress.
"We are converting from closed-in refrigeration units to open-air merchandisers for easier access for our guests so that they can easily grab the items and go versus opening and closing refrigerator doors," Faulkner said.
Soda, PowerAde, and juice will now be held in open-air merchandisers similar to the open-air merchandisers in Au Bu Pain.
"We are going to do a similar thing for the hot grab-and-go items," Faulkner said. "We are also changing the finishes in the seating area and in the server area. We are getting some new cabinetries and serving counters in the DXpress."
Dining Services does not have a final budget yet because they are still in the process of renovating several facilities.
DXpress is scheduled to be ready and open when the fall semester begins.
"The target date to complete the renovations is Friday, Aug. 21," Faulkner said. "We hope to have them 95 percent complete by then because we open at 7 p.m. that evening."
Other new dining features on campus will include a new granite counter in Deet's place.
Dining Services is looking at electronic menu boards to install over the holiday break. However, they plan to have temporary menu boards in DXpress for the better part of the fall semester.
West End Market renovations are on target to start in Spring 2010.
Dining Services is adding 100 new indoor seats, additional patio seating, new public restrooms, a freezer and cooler off the Sports Bar, and employee locker rooms.
They hope to minimize the number of deliveries received every day to just once in the morning.