Collegiate Times

To the average college student, the thought of eating a common dining hall meal usually inspires him or her to take chances elsewhere ? say with what he finds on the ground or in his hair. However, for the lucky thousands attending Tech, this is not the case.

Virginia Tech placed 2 for Best Campus Food, according to the Princeton Review, which is driven by student-based surveys, ?Virginia Tech has one of the best dining programs in the country and the leadership positions available to students are a great way to gain experience in all aspects of the business,? said Arif Demirel, a senior biology major and former supervisor at Sbarro.

When asked to what he attributed to the success of the dining services program at Tech, Rick Johnson, director of Housing and Dining Services said, ?This began 13 years ago with the changes, modifications and additions we made to the program by listening to the students.? Johnson went on to explain the evolution of the program.

?Students were not happy with the meal plans, they wanted something more flexible, and hence the flex plan was born. Here we think we satisfied the student?s first need,? Johnson said.

Before the flex plans, students were only able to purchase plans giving them 10, 12 or 15 meals a week.

?As a current minor flex holder, I enjoy the flexibility of my dining options. It definitely beats the weekly meal plans because I can choose when and where to eat,? said Bobby Rhoades, a junior communication major.

The second need Johnson and dining services were able to identify was the call for national brands on campus. This prompted Rick to seek permission from the school, and in the end, they were able to convince the school to allow franchising. However, the addition of national brands also spawned another student need: the desire to satisfy fast needs with good food. ?We're pretty lucky. I've been to other campuses, and their food and food services aren't anywhere near the quality of ours. Places like Au Bon Pain and Sbarro, which are national chains, aren't on every campus. It's a great testament to Virginia Tech's dining services,? said Casey Marstaller, a senior dairy science major.

Even though national brands have been met with huge success at Virginia Tech, they only make up a small portion of dining services receiving 18 percent of sales, Johnson said. The crowning achievement of dining services, Johnson said, is the ever-popular West End Market.

?There was no West End Market concept in the entire country when we built it; it was something brand new,? Johnson said.

The idea of a market setting was revolutionary with regard to dining on college campuses. Student?s prayers for fresh, good food were answered with items like wraps, pasta, sandwiches and salads.

However, Rick also predicted that West End Market would be overcrowded as soon as it opened its doors; this concern echoed through the students as well.

Dan Rappucci, a senior finance major and self-proclaimed food enthusiast said, ?I enjoy the quality of dining services; however, because the quality is so good, the dining halls are usually overcrowded, like West End.?

Overcrowding is not the only issue concerning students about West End. ?West End, while slightly more expensive than other dining halls on campus, compensates with a wide variety of gourmet foods. As an employee, I get some free food, so it doesn?t bother me, but I know the rest of the students are going to run out of money fast if they eat at West End,? said Johnny Konzik, a sophomore general engineering major.

Johnson said a solution to the overcrowding was renovation of other dining halls. ?This is why we had to do something with Dietrick. We needed to draw customers away from West End,? he said.

So what?s next for this prestigious program? According to Johnson, there?s talk of putting a Chipotle-style shop in Owens. As for the large scale, there are plans of building a major dining hall facility on the academic side of campus next to Randolph, although that proposal is several years from completion.