Stamp Student Union’s food court is undergoing changes throughout this academic year.
Subway, which was previously housed in TerpZone, is taking over Saladworks’ location, and Chick-fil-A is set to move across the food court to the location previously occupied by Roy Rogers, according to Dining Services spokesperson Bart Hipple.
Saladworks permanently closed because the business was “struggling,” Hipple said.
The Dining Services Facilities team aims to open the new Subway this semester, Hipple said. The spot formerly occupied by Saladworks is currently under construction.
Dining Services has to balance new space locations with general upkeep of dining halls and businesses that are already open, Hipple said.
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Chick-fil-A, the most popular vendor in the food court, is moving to the former Roy Rogers location due to its “significantly larger” kitchen space, Hipple said. Chick-fil-A was due for remodeling and will be able to serve more customers faster with the bigger space, according to Hipple.
The former Roy Rogers location is 60 percent bigger than Chick-fil-A’s current spot, which allows the vendor to operate with the entire menu, instead of as an express version, according to Dan Robertson, Stamp’s retail operations assistant director.
“It’ll be as soon as we can make it happen,” Hipple said about the timeline of the relocation.
There are many steps involved when working with an outside construction company, such as scheduling and obtaining permits before and after construction, Hipple said. The Panera Bread in Stamp, which opened last spring, was delayed for more than a year due to permits, equipment sourcing and operational issues, The Diamondback previously reported.
“We’re not in charge of the schedule as much as we would like to be,” Hipple said.
Despite Subway being out of the way for many students in TerpZone, the restaurant was busy, Hipple said. He expects the new location in the food court will attract just as many students.
The Subway in TerpZone used to be a place students would go if the lines in the food court were too long, Robertson said.
“Now it’ll be where the action is,” Hipple said. “Hopefully there will be enough demand that all of these places do great business.”
TerpZone plans to replace Subway’s former space with a virtual reality center that will not be open for a couple years, according to Robertson.
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Some students believe Subway will have more traction and sales in its new location in the food court.
Senior mechanical engineering major Colin Kai Valcarcel, who never ate at Subway when it was in TerpZone, said he may go to the sandwich shop more often due to the convenience of the food court location.
Steven Fung, a junior operations management and business analytics major, said he will go to Subway more than Chick-fil-A once the vendor moves to the food court, even though Chick-fil-A is currently his favorite spot in the food court.
He also said he hopes the relocation of Chick-fil-A will speed up the line that he said can be too long.
“Every time I come to Stamp, my first thought is I’m going to the food court, not I’m going to TerpZone,” Fung said. “Having the Subway there would be very helpful for the options.”
Junior business information systems and operations management and business analytics major Emily Charron said she avoids Chick-fil-A’s long lines by going at less busy times. She thinks the larger kitchen will help orders be fulfilled faster.
There will be eight vendors open in the food court once all construction is completed, according to Hipple.
