Mediterranean Sandwich Co. will have a location in the University of Alabama Student Center for the duration of the fall 2023 semester.  

The new location will be open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will have a condensed menu that will feature the store’s top seven items along with two of the restaurant’s vegetarian options. 

The Tuscaloosa location of Mediterranean Sandwich Co. opened on the Strip in October 2021 and boasts a rating of 4.5/5 stars across 75 Google reviews. The restaurant offers gyros, flatbreads, bowls and more. It is one of five locations across the state of Alabama. 

The restaurant will occupy the Flip Kitchen near Chick-fil-A in the Student Center. 

“The Flip Kitchen is intended to be a temporary location for local merchants and to provide variety for students, faculty, staff and campus guests in the food court area,” Director of University Dining Services Kristina Patridge said.  

Bruce McVeagh, resident district manager for Aramark, which Bama Dining contracts to provide food services, said students will never see a national brand in the Flip Kitchen. 

In the past, La Mexicana and Cheese Louise have occupied the Flip Kitchen position. Although Cheese Louise was there for a single semester, La Mexicana was there for more than a year because of difficulty finding another local vendor to take its place.  

McVeagh said that ideally each restaurant would occupy the Flip Kitchen for only one semester at a time. 

Patridge said all local vendors that accept Dining Dollars, including food trucks, can occupy the Flip Kitchen temporarily, provided they can make their product using the kitchen’s existing equipment.  

Generally, the operator of the existing establishment is also in charge of the Flip Kitchen location. In the case of Mediterranean Sandwich Co., Christina and Derek Helveston, who operate the location on the Strip, will also run the Student Center location. 

“We wanted to see if we could have a little partnership there, and it looked like a good opportunity for us to be able to reach out and get some good food to people,” Helveston said.