PULLMAN, Wash. — The Wilmer-Davis Dining Center at Washington State University will close its doors to undergo remodeling during the 2003-04 academic year in order to offer a new image and style of serving food.
The $2.7 million project is part of a plan to remodel WSU dining halls, including Regents Hall during the 2004-05 academic year and the Rotunda during 2005-06. These two projects will be about $7 million each, said Lamar Patterson, director of Dining Services.
“Around 700 students from the Hill halls will have to eat their meals at a different place for the next year,” Patterson said. For this reason, the displaced students will get a 40 percent discount at the Lair, Butch’s Den and the Student Court as long as construction continues.
The remodeling is part of a new concept for the dining halls. “We are changing from the cafeteria concept into the platform or exhibition concept. Each area will have stations where the consumer can see the meals being prepared in front of them,” Patterson explained.
Dining Services is also implementing interactive management to give students the opportunity to express what they would like to eat. “We want to know what our customers like and what they want,” Patterson said. “We are asking clients in a style we call ‘table touching’ so that we can get as much feedback as possible while people are using dining services on campus. Students should take the chance to voice their opinions about what a good meal should include,” he said.
Additionally, because of the remodeling, students in the dining halls will have an extension at McCroskey Hall, which will include a new food service. The hall will now have an espresso cart and market that operates from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. during the week and from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on weekends.
