Campus Dining begins the 2024-25 year with the grand opening of its sixth all-you-care-to-eat dining center in Orange Hall (the former Sheraton Hotel, located next to the Whitman School of Management). It is the first new on-campus dining center in 15 years, since Ernie Davis opened its doors in 2009. Orange dining center will offer a similar menu to the five other all-you-care-to-eat dining centers, with a focus on quick service for the busy lives of University community members.
“The Orange dining center experience is especially for customers needing quick fueling from morning until night and in between classes and activities,” says Cheryl Fabrizi, associate vice president of Auxiliary Services. “Not only is the location ideal for the 400 residents in Orange Hall, but for the entire campus community. It’s just steps away from the Schine Student Center and Bird Library.”
The new dining option comes after an exciting 2023-24 academic year for Campus Dining that included dining renovations at Goldstein Student Center’s Food Hall and the reopening of the Inn Complete, both on South Campus.
The Campus Dining, Catering Services and Concessions teams also took several steps this summer toward meeting the goals set by the University’s pledge to substantially reduce single-use plastics by the 2027-28 school year.
Compostable cutlery, plates, straws and cups are now used at retail locations, catering events and dining centers (except at franchise locations, which are bound by contracts with national brands). Campus Dining has phased out pre-wrapped cutlery kits, which often produced excess waste. Compostable cutlery dispensers (like these) can now be found in all cafes, student centers and dining centers on campus.
In dining centers, takeaway cups and lids are out, with students now encouraged to utilize their own wide-mouth bottles and cups to take beverages to-go. Single-serve yogurts and non-dairy alternatives were replaced with buffet-style bars, thanks to a new collaboration with Chobani (located just 60 miles from campus in New Berlin, New York). Individually packaged coffee creamers (and similar products) have been replaced by large-volume dispensers. Single-serve ice cream novelties have been replaced with large cartons, where students can scoop their own dishes, accompanied by an enhanced toppings bar.
The efforts also extended to the JMA Wireless Dome, where concession stands replaced soda fountains (and the approximately 55,000 plastic cups, lids and straws used annually) in favor of bottles and cans. The change, spearheaded by Concessions and Catered Suites Director Chris Coonrad, will lead to streamlined recycling collection on the concourses.
Reducing the amount of food waste has been another area of focus. The culinary teams in Campus Dining, Catering Services and Concessions, led by several executive chefs, are working hard to reduce the amount of wasted food while crafting a refreshed rotating four-week dining center menu, accompanied by pop-up and special dining events sprinkled throughout the fall semester.
The daily menu crafted by Executive Chef Rick Leonardo contains composed meals—several choices of featured entrees and sides that complement each other, mimicking those typically experienced at home or sit-down restaurants.
“Meeting the University’s sustainability goals involves continuously reviewing the many essential services we provide to the campus community and constantly improving upon our daily operations,” says Fabrizi. “From our food sourcing, to our transport vehicles, to upgrading and electrifying our equipment, to adding more plant-based options to our menu and more, our leadership team is working hard to do our part locally and globally.”
All Syracuse University Campus Dining and Campus Store locations are now fully cashless. Dining and retail locations will continue to accept all major credit and debit cards, ’CUSE Cash, Dining Dollars (where applicable) and Google Pay/Apple Pay (where available).
Auxiliary Services is encouraging members of the campus community to utilize ’CUSE Cash for all purchases at Campus Dining locations, the Campus Store and at a growing list of off-campus retailers. In addition to its convenience, using ’CUSE Cash at on-campus dining facilities allows you to receive a 10% discount on your purchase. Off-campus local and national retailers have begun accepting ’CUSE Cash as they are added to the program. Currently, Bistro 1926 at Drumlins Country Club, Mist Tea Cafe, Purple Banana, Five Guys, the Cracked Bean Roastery and Poke Fish accept ’CUSE Cash. Additional participating locations will be updated throughout the year.
The whole-of-department dedication to continuous improvement will be visible across campus, said John Papazoglou, senior vice president and chief operations officer.
“The hard work by the Auxiliary Services team will not end anytime soon,” says Papazoglou. “With the strategic housing and dining plan just beginning, there are many transformations to come for the housing and dining portfolio at Syracuse University.”
