Exciting restaurants coming to CSUB campus
By: Sandy Ornelas and Jonathan Wells
It’s the beginning of a new semester here at CSU Bakersfield and new changes in campus dining are underway.
Over summer break, The Runner Café has gone through many changes. What use to be Sbarro and The Grill, is now all you can eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Togo’s which was located on the first floor of the Science 3 building, will be replaced with Which Wich, a sandwich shop.
Rowdy’s which was inside The Student Union will transform into Panda Express and the Student Bookstore will now include a Starbucks Coffee Shop.
Many students agreed that Starbucks was a great addition on campus.
“I’m ecstatic! I need some caffeine all the time, so I’m really happy that Starbucks is opening up a location here, ” said Yvette Flores, business and political science major.
“Aramark sent out a call to see what branded stores would like to open on campus and Panda Express and Starbucks were the first to jump at the offer,” said Illaria Pesco, the Executive Director of Associated Student, Inc.
In the mean-time, while The Runner Café and the new restaurants are under construction, the University brought on food trucks as a temporary help.
Michael Lukens, the Director of Public Affairs and Communications, said when choosing Panda Express and Starbucks they were looking for companies that already worked at Universities, had a relationship with Aramark and have a reputation for being high quality.
After Starbucks opens, Pete’s Coffee shop will close and will be converted into a convenience store for students to grab snacks on the go.
Some students like the changes that are being made on campus.
Joaquin Mancilla, Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies major, said, ” I think that’s a great idea, that’s something they should done since they opened the campus. I think they will have more students eating on campus then going out of campus.”
Others like, Nick Fequiere, Communications major, wish students had a voice when it comes to what foods should be on campus.
“I think it is very important that the students have a voice. I think that the students should have some kind of say into what we’re bringing on campus because we are the lifeblood of this university; we pay tuition. Without us, this university wouldn’t function, so I think that it’s only fair that all the students on campus have some kind of say into what we are bringing in to this university,” said Fequiere.
Panda Express, Starbucks and Which Wich, are planned to open sometime in October or early November.
In the meantime, if students are looking for a place to eat on campus. The Runner Café serves breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; lunch starts at 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and dinner begins at 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Currently, there are no future plans to bring more restaurants to the campus. When asked what fast-food restaurants students would like to have next on campus, the majority voted: Chick-Fil-A.
