This past month, U.Va. Dining announced that they would be welcoming four new dining locations to Grounds. Although the dining halls offer a variety of foods, I think we can all agree that sometimes you need something other than Newcomb chicken and O’Hill coffee. However, most of the time, you don’t want to have to pay for all your meals if you are already paying for a meal plan.
“We had an opportunity to replace some of our less trafficked locations and offer more variety to the student body,” said Sarah Gordon, marketing manager of Aramark. “Through many forms of feedback, students have told us they wanted different options near central Grounds, especially options that provided fresh, healthy ingredients and international cuisines.”
These four new dining locations will give students the opportunity to utilize their meal plans at a number of different places that offer more specialized dining options.
Bento Sushi
Bento Sushi is the new sushi place that is located inside the Pav on the first floor of Newcomb Hall. Their menu includes delicious sushi options, udon noodles, poke bowls and more. Sushi is one of my favorite foods, so I’m always on the lookout for a new sushi place, and one that’s located on Grounds is even more convenient.
Even better, Bento Sushi will be accepting Flex Dollars and Cavalier Advantage, which means that students enrolled on a meal plan will be able to use the Flex Dollars from their meal plan to purchase some delicious sushi. Their opening date is subject to change due to construction, but be sure to visit this location as soon as it’s open.
Ben & Jerry’s
Who doesn’t love ice cream? Especially when it’s located right inside the Pav on the first floor of Newcomb Hall. This location is perfect for an after-dinner treat or late night snack, and will save you a trip to the Ben & Jerry’s located all the way in Barrack’s Shopping Center.
Rachel Nuccitelli, third-year College student, spoke of her opinions on the rapidly changing U.Va. dining landscape and how she felt about the new ice cream location in the heart of campus. Although there are meal options that will be missed, Nuccitelli notes the benefits to students and families that new options like Ben and Jerry’s brings to the table.
“I think the addition of a Ben and Jerry’s in Newcomb will be a great place for students to take a study break, chat with some friends and enjoy delicious ice cream,” Nuccitelli said. “Its location is also great for families visiting as they make their way to the bookstore and for the high population of first-year students that eat at the dining hall.”
Ben & Jerry’s will serve their classic offerings, including ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet. My favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor is Milk & Cookies, but you really can’t go wrong with their abundance of flavor options. Ben & Jerry’s will be accepting both Flex Dollars and Cavalier Advantage, as well as cash and credit card payments.Currently, the opening is anticipated to be on Aug. 23rd and no specific hours are available for the location presently.
The Juice Laundry
The Juice Laundry, a Charlottesville staple, will be opening up a second location in Newcomb Hall, replacing the N2GO. I am convinced that The Juice Laundry makes the absolute best smoothie bowls — Corner Juice just can’t compete with them. My favorite is Bradley’s CB&J, and I always make it into a smoothie bowl. As someone who lived in Old Dorms, I always found it such a trek to go all the way to the AFC or the Corner just to get a smoothie bowl. Now, this new location will allow me to quickly grab a smoothie or juice in between classes.
The Juice Laundry will offer their usual menu items, including smoothies, acai bowls, fresh-pressed juice and quick vegan eats. They will also be accepting Flex Dollars, Cavalier Advantage and cash or credit card payments. The Newcomb Hall location for The Juice Laundry is anticipated to open on Aug. 23rd and hours are currently available as of now.
Brewbike
Brewbike is a student-run cold brew company that is on a mission to empower the next generation of leaders through entrepreneurial experience. Started by a group of Northwestern freshmen in 2015, it has grown to other college campuses including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Miami and is now joining the University community. It will replace Argo Tea, located in Wilsdorf Hall.
“We were constantly hearing that the Engineering students near Wilsdorf did not have time between classes to get lunch and that they needed closer caffeine options,” Gordon said. “By replacing Argo Tea with Brewbike – a student run coffee shop – we are now offering both grab n’ go meals, including meal exchange options and a long list of coffee drinks.”
I think most college students would agree that coffee is an essential part of every morning, so I couldn’t be more excited to see a new coffee place on Grounds.
Nathan DeGallery, launch director and market manager of Brewbike, hopes the business’s expansion to Charlottesville will be a place that adds to the vibrant energy of the University community.
“We [just] want to build a really collaborative, cool community that kind of operates in the heart of U.Va. culture as a whole,” DeGallery said. “I think we're doing that by just bringing on lots of students from diverse backgrounds, all over the world onto our team.”
While Brewbike has filled all of their employee positions, they’re hoping to expand their team to those who may not have had the opportunity to initially apply to work at Brewbike. For DeGallery, seeing students take on leadership roles and opportunities is an element of Brewbike’s opening that excites him.
“I'm also super excited to just see how, as we start bringing on bringing people on to the team of baristas and our brew team, that community kind of steeps itself and becomes its own unique place for every individual's development,” DeGallery said. “[We’re also excited to see] how we can help people with their career goals and everything along the way.”
Brewbike hopes to open their location Aug. 23, and will definitely open within that week, making it the perfect place for students to grab a quick coffee between classes. DeGallery’s favorite is the cinnamon sugar cold brew – and he hopes students will support the peer-run cold brew place’s mission to inspire students to make change in the world by giving them leadership positions and teaching them how to run a business on their own.
In addition to these four new dining locations, U.Va. Dining is also enhancing many of the menus at existing dining locations. This includes, but is not limited to, Crossroads restaurants such as Society Pies offering made-to-order personal pizzas, toasted melts and sandwiches and Grill-ology offering made-to-order burgers and sauce-tossed chicken tenders. Not only are new menu options coming to the mix but locally sourcing has also become an integral part of dining.
“We are excited to feature local grass-fed beef sourced from Seven Hills Farms and veggie burgers from Charlottesville-based woman owned company, NoBull Burger, which was co-founded by an U.Va. alumna at both Grill-ology and West Range Cafe.” Gordon said. “We will also feature locally sourced produce from 4P Foods and Cavalier Produce when possible in several menus across Grounds.”
These four new dining locations and enhanced menu options will bring a much-needed new taste of flavor to Grounds, and will hopefully give students — especially first years on mandatory meal plans — the variety they need in all of their meals. Gordon’s tip to first year students navigating their mandatory meal plans is to take time to read the information on the U.V.a. Dining website and follow them on social media to stay up-to-date with announcements and menu items.
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