By Kean Huy Alado
Chicken tenders, foot-long subs, sushi, quesadillas, poke bowls, and smoothies! At one time, Barry University served all of these for student consumption. However, over the last year, dining options at Barry University have changed—with the most notable change occurring in Thompson Hall.
Students from spring 2024 may remember that Thompson Hall hosted three vendors: the Buc Stop Cafe, Subway, and Ace Sushi, with the latter two being third party restaurants and the former being an internally produced cafe.
The cafe served students breakfast drinks such as tea and coffee and supplied students with pastries such as croissants and pain au chocolat. On the other hand, Subway, well-renowned for their iconic subs, was frequently visited by the Barry population for a meal and sides like the Footlong cookie, churro, and pretzel.
As of fall 2024, Subway has ceased its operations at Barry University and has been blocked off from students for supposed construction. This sparked discussion and investigations into what the construction was for.
Barry University junior nursing major, Aliyana Richard shared her speculation, “I hear they are bringing Jimmy Johns on campus; I feel like this will have a lot of students eating there!”
With rumors of another gourmet sandwich vendor taking Subway’s position in Thompson Hall, students appear excited for the change and look forward to its potential appearance. Moreover, Richard added that, “I suggest Barry bring in something all students want to eat, like Chick-fil-A,” demonstrating advocacy for dining options at Barry that can cover an abundant percentage of food preferences for Barry University’s population.
Lastly, Ace Sushi was an Asian vendor serving sushi, poke bowls, bao buns, and rice bowls. This dining option was swapped out over the summer and a new vendor, Rice & Spice took its position starting fall 2024. This new installation offers products and services similar to Chipotle: rice bowls and burritos that are customized by the consumer.
This change was controversial among the students. Richard argued, “When it comes to the new place, Rice & Spice, I strongly dislike the place. They should throw it away.” This polarizing perspective may indicate the necessity for Barry University to listen to students’ feedback about dining options they may want at Barry before installing different vendors.
Some other minor changes made over the summer included axing the Wiegand Cafe, a small stop for pastries and breakfast drinks, and replacing it with a self-serving snacks and drinks station. A similar station is being installed in Thompson Hall. However, Richard claimed that “these mini market stations they’ve been putting around are really unnecessary because students don’t want to come out of pocket for that!” Therefore, Richard also highlighted the financial factor involved in selecting a dining option, which may increase from what they were previously comfortable with.
Bites & Blends, a vendor that serves smoothies, paninis, and pizzas was also renovated over the summer to include new flavors and a more frequent influx of ingredients for the large flow of students visiting the shop. New kiosks were also installed for students to order their meals. Bucky’s Cove, an internal sports bar that offers pork ribs, chicken tenders, wings and fries, shared this change as well.
The Union Market, the in-house grocery store remains consistent with their services from years prior, and hosts The Boar’s Head, a deli station that can serve gourmet sandwiches and quesadillas.
Another spot that remains fairly similar to its services from previous semesters is Dunkin’ Donuts, which is situated between the library and Garner Hall. Both spots are still frequently visited by students.
Finally, the Roussell Dining Hall serves as the university's cafeteria, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the week; options for food change daily to keep things as fresh as possible. However, frequently seen options include chicken, pizza, salads, drinks, sandwiches, fries, and burgers.
Students all hold differing opinions when it comes to the food choices offered at Barry. Leslhey Vergara, an undeclared sophomore, stated, “it [Barry] has vegan options, and I enjoy that and the salad.”
Specifically surrounding Roussell dining hall, Richard stated, “the dining hall selection tastes better and kind of has a better variety.” displaying a trend of improvement at Barry’s largest and most versatile dining option.
Vergara also included that she has no say in previous years, but she thinks “the food options are good, pretty diverse,” showing the sentiment that even through all the changes, Barry still boasts a wide range of flavors for students to choose from and satisfy the students.
Richard critiqued that "the food options could definitely be better, I feel like compared to last year it's better but, other than that it's hit or miss,” which expresses Barry has the room to grow in providing food selections on campus.
Barry University continues to deliver a diverse selection of food for students, but it is possible that they can still improve with feedback from the student body
Comments