Students returned to campus for the fall semester to find a revitalized dining space and a variety of new menu options at The DISH @ BAUGH. HBU administrators, staff from University Dining Services and Aramark, and students joined together at 11 a.m. on Sept. 21 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand re-opening of the campus-based dining facility.
HBU President Dr. Robert Sloan and HBU’s Founding Father Dr. Stewart Morris, Jr., joined with administrators, faculty and students to celebrate the facility’s re-opening.
The student dining hall features an updated interior as well as new tables and chairs to top off the new look. “The more modern look and expanded menu items were in response to desires for greater variety in available food items that students expressed in a dining survey,” said Benny Gilbert, ARAMARK Higher Education Food Service Director.
“We also looked forward to leveraging technology, specifically, where students are able to pre-order via a kiosk in the dining room for their custom, made-to-order dinners and lunches,” said Alisdair MacLean, Regional Vice President of Aramark of new facility enhancements.
Students can now choose from a number of fresh, made-to-order food items and newly-branded food stations ranging from the Global Kitchen to the Sandwich Lab to Under the Hood, a food hub where students can order “mashed burgers.” Food selections from local Houston restaurants are now available to students on select days at Restaurant Row, another new feature of the newly revitalized space.
Paloma Montemayor, a biochemistry molecular biology student who attended GO Orientation, applauded the new look and menu options and was excited to see that students’ voices were heard. “This is the standard for cafeterias in my opinion, and the most fulfilling part is being able to create change and have our voices heard,” said Montemayor of the recent dining hall enhancements.
Malerie Badillo, a junior Pre-Med student, called the macaroni and cheese and chicken alfredo pasta her favorites and gave a thumbs up to the new wall designs and enhanced seating in the Baugh. “Everything is just eye-catching and of course you want to eat in a place that looks clean and looks nice, and I like that, and am excited to eat here.”
To add to the student dining hall’s ambiance, students also can now download, ROCKBOT, a new app, that will allow students to select songs of their choice to play while they dine and visit with friends.
For more information, email bgilbert@HC.edu.
Photos: Courtesy Michael Tims / Houston Baptist University
