Along with preparing to accommodate students’ varying dietary needs, Geisert Cafeteria is preparing for a major renovation,
starting in December.
“There’s a full renovation planned for the facility,” said Ron Gibson, director of dining services.
“The main goal is to expand the area. We currently have 180 seats. We’re going to have double that.”
Although renovations are not set to begin until the winter, the planning that has begun has run smoothly, with the support of the administration.
“From the president down, everyone’s been a very big supporter of it,” Gibson said. “There’s been no headaches.”
The planned renovations would expand the Geisert Cafeteria into the courtyard between Heitz Hall and Geisert. The renovations are being done both to allow for more seating in the cafeteria, but also to expand the kitchen, making room for a larger cooler and freezer as well as for room for refrigeration for the new kosher meal program.
Gibson said he hopes the new cooler and freezer area will be able to relieve some of the problems
the cafeteria has had with needing to receive as many deliveries
as it does.
“It’s going to affect the way we prepare foods,” Gibson said. “For the cooling and freezing area, it’s very small. We have to get deliveries all the time.”
The cafeteria has been in need of renovations to fit the number of students who eat there for years, but there has not been room for the dining area to expand into.
“When that place was built, it was supposed to be able to serve about 300 students a day,” Gibson said. “That’s not really the case anymore. Last Sunday, we served over 1,000 people.”
