In its first week open in over a year and a half, Ohio University's renovated Shively Court served 11,021 students in four days, more than any other dining hall on campus.
The dining hall contains a new Grab 'n Go, new hours of operation and a new layout, which includes a deli, a baker's corner, a grille and a station featuring homestyle cooking.
It progressively got busier during the week
said Rich Neumann, director of Residential Dining. It peaked on Wednesday and then fell back on Thursday and Friday but that is pretty normal.
The other dining halls, with the exception of Boyd on West Green, saw a decrease in students when compared to an average week last year. While Nelson only saw a slight drop, serving 7,550 students, Jefferson Dining Hall only served 5,371 students.
The opening of Shively was highly successful and (Dining Services) were not at all surprised by the numbers
said Katie Quaranta, a university spokeswoman. Boyd saw little to no decline because of how far away it was
but Jefferson was down about 50 percent from this time last year
and it was completely expected.
The opening of Shively doubles the number of dining halls on East Green. Neither, however, is open on Saturdays. Neumann said that, despite having to walk to Nelson on Saturdays, East Green students have more dining hall hours available on their green than in past quarters.
Shively, which previously served lunch until 1:30 p.m., now offers lunch until 3 p.m. Dinner hours were also extended from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
This was the result of comments from our student focus group
Dining Services Development Committee
said Neumann. Dining Services has tracked meal counts for years
and we utilize this information in setting our hours as well. We have increased the number of hours of service to the students (at Shively) by 14 hours per week without changing the hours of operation at Jefferson.
While there is no dining hall that serves breakfast on East Green during the week, Neumann said there have not been cutbacks when it comes to serving breakfast.
Both Nelson and Boyd are open for breakfast, and Neumann added that students can also grab a morning meal at the Shively Grab 'n Go or, if they have flex plans, can eat at West 82.
Only nine percent of all meal plan holders ate breakfast last quarter, according to Residential Dining Services.
Students requested more lunch and dinner hours, Neumann said.
Despite a successful first week, university officials expect the numbers to decline as the year continues.
I think that (the numbers) will start to level off as students start to establish their eating patterns
Neumann said.
