Boyd Dining Hall on West Green to close, replaced by food truck
With Ohio University’s enrollment at an all-time high, and Boyd Dining Hall closing in the spring, Culinary Services is getting creative to feed West Green residents.
A food truck will be available on West Green during Boyd’s renovation this spring. The food truck will be present all spring semester and will be parked right on the gravel area by Boyd Dining Hall’s entrance. It will accept meal plans.
The renovated Boyd should open next fall.
“Its primary function spring semester is going to be stationed here during Boyd renovations,” said Dan Pittman, assistant director of Auxiliary Sales. “We plan to bring it out to the community after the renovation is complete.”
OU’s Board of Trustees will vote on a resolution at its meeting this week to allow the university to accept bids for renovating the dining hall. The board previously approved allocating $12 million for renovations.
Shively and Nelson dining halls have been renovated in recent years; Jefferson Dining Hall was closed during the 2012-13 academic year.
Students will be able to use their meal swipes at the food truck and will be able to choose from appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts and drinks.
On Tuesday, Culinary Services hosted a “food sampling” in Boyd and distributed surveys to students to rank how they liked the options.
The truck was not on-site at Tuesday’s event and officials didn’t provide details about the truck.
The five highlighted options were: a grilled beef sandwich; white bean burger (vegetarian); a pork taco; a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich; and a Mexican-style hot dog.
Alex Striker, a freshman studying athletic training, liked the samples more than those normally offered in dining halls, but did not like that fact that the food truck will only be a to-go option.
“It’s going to suck ... since I won’t have a place to sit down,” Striker said. “And I can’t really eat outside since its going to be cold.”
Kasiem Medley, a sophomore studying pre-law, found the food average.
“I’ll probably walk to Shively, but I do that mostly anyways,” Medley said. “I hope there is better quality and selection of food after the renovation.”
Brittney Hall, a sophomore studying nursing, had similar thoughts about Boyd’s future.
“I hope it’s more modern, like the others, and has more variety,” she said.
Hall said she would likely eat at Shively or West 82 in Baker University Center in the spring, but will also use the food truck.
“The idea of this food truck is to mimic the new Boyd,” said Jeff Arthur, OU’s new executive chef.
Arthur said the food truck will cover all diets, offering gluten-free and vegetarian options. One of the vegetarian options, the white bean burger, is Arthur’s own recipe.
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