Featured Photo by Stephanie Hall
Story by Makayla Sulcer
Fall 2023 kicked off at Middle Tennessee State University with an array of new dining options across the campus.
Students said goodbye to Steak n’ Shake, Pizza Hut, Local Restaurant Row and Dunkin’ Donuts. Campus dining brought in Nashville Chicken & Waffles, Slim & Husky’s Pizza, Blenz Bowls and Just Love Coffee.
New options generally bring excitement, but some students seem to have other opinions on the changes.
“The new dining options are great, but you simply can’t beat the prices of the older restaurants that were more affordable,” said Gatlin Murr, a senior at MTSU.
The change in restaurants felt very sudden to students, with little news on the changes until the weeks before the semester began. Some students didn’t even know about the changes until they came to class on the first day.
“I found out about the changes from social media right before classes started,” said Drew Lickman, another MTSU senior.
The changes were a way to bring in some new restaurants for students to enjoy, with many of them being local businesses.
“We wanted to bring new life to our dining options on campus. We thought a great way to do this would be to add local small businesses to our campus community,” said Aramark Marketing Manager Rachel Hunter.
Both Nashville Chicken & Waffles and Just Love Coffee are operated by MTSU Alumni. Slim & Husky’s is another local restaurant that was founded by Tennessee State University graduates.
The new dining options have been received with both positive and negative feedback.
Some students feel the food variety has decreased on campus due to the locations. Many students spend a majority of their time on the east side of campus, near the Student Union. While a majority of these new restaurant offerings were placed in this building, some students miss the opportunity for certain types of food that have since left the Union building.
“I think the only place on campus that I can get burgers is now Raider Zone Grill, which is further away from my classes,” Lickman said.
The big difference with these new offerings on campus is the use of meal plans.
“The new restaurants all accept Flex Bucks, Raider Funds, cash or credit,” Hunter said.
This comes at a shock for many students who relied on the meal plans to expand their food options on campus. The new dining options do not accept meal swipes, which is what many students living on campus use for their meals.
At the moment, meal plans can only be used for Chik-fil-a and Subway in The Middle, McCallie’s Dining Hall at KUC, Panda Express and Farmers Market in the Student Union, Starbucks in the Library and Raider Grill in the James Union Building.
As the semester continues, we will see how successful these new options are with the campus community.
Nashville Chicken & Waffles, Blenz Bowls and Just Love Coffee are in the Student Union Building. All but Just Love Coffee are open. It is meant to open by October. Slim & Husky’s Pizza is located in The Middle at Corlew.
To learn more about campus dining, visit https://mtsu.campusdish.com/
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
