After finishing renovation during the summer, the updated Lakeside Dining Hall will be ready for the fall semester.

Kristina Patridge, director of University Dining Services, said the renovation costs added up to seven million dollars. The new dining hall will include additions such as equipment, new infrastructure and dietary accommodations.

“I think the most impressive thing about the new Lakeside Dining is the variety of the equipment that we’ve been able to put in the facility,” Patridge said. “We can provide a lot of options for the students to create their own customized meals.”

Due to its proximity to the residence halls, Lakeside is the busiest dining hall on campus, and the busiest times for the dining hall are breakfast, dinner and late-night, she said.

“I think it’s a really nice building,” Trey Sullivan, a junior majoring in international relations said. “They put a lot into making it a good environment to eat.”

Patridge said she thinks that the students will get a better value with the types of foods currently being provided at the dining hall.

One improvement is that the new infrastructure will let employees move around the dining hall more easily and focus on the customer experience.

“The employees used to average about 10,000 steps per day,” Patridge said.  

She said the updated dining hall is equipped with a gluten-aware kitchen.

“The accommodation room we have will be able to provide services to our students who have different dietary allergies,” Patridge said.

There is also a secure area for dietary accommodations that prevents anyone who does not need accommodations from entering.

The University’s dining services team is trained in food allergy awareness, the Bama Dining website’s food allergy page said. Some of the options for accommodating students with food allergies are communicating with students about changing foods on the menu or preparing allergen-free food items.

Sullivan said he thinks the building has enough space now and that there will never be a problem with seating.

“I don’t want to go to a dining hall and wait twenty minutes for my food,” Sullivan said.

While he appreciates that the dining hall is giving out made-to-order food, Sullivan said he thinks that the long lines caused by the made-to-order food can be solved by having some pre-prepared food options.

“Or they can increase their already made-to-order items,” Sullivan said.

Another feature in the dining hall is a popsicle machine, Patridge said. The machine can make about 500 popsicles in a half-hour.

Patridge said she wants people on campus, especially freshmen, to take advantage of the new Lakeside Dining.

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