As the University begins the fall semester, students and faculty looking to eat on Grounds might notice some changes to the University's dining options — namely, new restaurants in the recently-constructed Gaston House, changing meal stations and all-you-can-eat options at Runk Dining Hall and new meal exchange options at Crossroads in Observatory Hill.
Five new restaurants are located in Gaston House, one of two new upperclassmen houses that opened this semester. Located on Brandon Avenue across the street from the Student Health & Wellness building, Gaston House and the neighboring Ramazani House house a combined 338 students.
Two of the restaurants — the 24/7 self-checkout retail store Gaston’s Market and the pastry and bake shop Whisk — are open now. The house will also feature The Den, a Denny’s-affiliated restaurant with diner-style cuisine, Launch Test Kitchen, a rotating kitchen with a menu changing every two weeks and Bodega, an Italian sandwich shop.
The three upcoming restaurants — The Den, Launch Test Kitchen and Bodega — are expected to be open by Sept. 5, according to University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover. Glover said that all five restaurants were originally meant to be open mid-September, but that Gaston’s Market and Whisk were able to open early thanks to the work of the project and construction teams.
Hovsep Seferian, Gaston House resident and second-year College student, said that the dining options on the first floor of the building were one of the main features that made him want to live there — and that so far, they’ve been a convenient part of daily life.
“As someone who often struggles getting breakfast in, the fact that I can wake up, put in an order on Grubhub for a coffee and a pastry from Whisk and just come downstairs and have it ready is really and truly a game changer,” Seferian said.
According to Andrew Mathiason, Gaston House resident and second-year College student, Gaston Market’s self-checkout system adds another convenient aspect to dining in Gaston House.
“You actually go in yourself [and scan] your student ID,” Mathiason said. “You pick up whatever you want … and then you leave, and it just charges the card. And you do it all yourself … it’s pretty cool.”
In addition to the new Gaston House restaurants, U.Va. Dine has overhauled offerings at Runk Dining Hall, adding multiple new dining options such as Bark + Brine, a station with a daily rotating menu and Mezz, a Mediterranean station. A new cafe in Runk, Wahoo Exchange, also offers made-to-order breakfast options with dine-in and takeout options, according to the U.Va. Dine website.
While the dining hall has retained some of its self-serve options, these are only available for brunch on weekends and for dinner. According to Kyle Woodson, residential advisor in Gooch dormitory and graduate Commerce student, this limited selection reduces the number of breakfast and lunch options available in the dining hall, with offerings such as the self-serve yogurt bar, oatmeal and fresh fruit no longer regularly available.
Woodson said that the change negatively impacts first-year students living in dormitories near Runk, such as Hereford College and Gooch/Dillard, as they must walk further to other dining halls if they want to eat a self-served meal for breakfast or lunch.
“I think they should just bring back [the past] all-you-can-eat option at Runk,” Woodson said. “It’s unfair to first years that are being made to pay for an all-access meal plan and then not [having] the same access to food as all the rest of the first years.”
Dalton Haydel, residential advisor in Dillard dormitory and second-year College student, also said that U.Va. Dine should expand all-you-can-eat dining options at Runk, saying that these options give more autonomy to diners with dietary restrictions.
“I have a lot of friends with allergies that are just consistently disappointed with how U.Va. Dine is handling things,” Haydel said. “When [dining halls have] self-serve stations, students with allergies feel like they have … a little bit more control over their plates.”
While the dining hall itself did not undergo any changes, U.Va. Dine has also opened three new locations at Crossroads in the Observatory Hill building — Hoos Hot Chicken, offering Nashville hot chicken, Twisted Tortilla, offering tacos and quesadillas and Rice Bowl Express, serving the same rice bowl, taco and pita wrap menu as the food truck often present at the McIntire Amphitheater. These locations are replacing Burrito Theory, Society Subs and Grillology.
All three locations offer meal exchange options and are open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., except Fridays and Saturdays when the three dining locations are open until midnight.
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