By Kimberly Chin
With a renewed contract signed over the summer with the University, Lackmann Culinary Services is looking to revamp campus dining.
Some of the changes were immediate and very noticeable, such as the addition of a mac-and-cheese station to the Student Center Cafe at the start of the semester. Nature’s Organic Grille, which was located in the kiosk in the middle of the Student Center, moved inside the Cafe where the Dutch Twists pretzel station previously resided. The Crazy Crepes station, located in the middle of the Cafe, offers freshly prepared crepes made to order, took the place of the sushi station, which took the place of Mongolian Chop Chop, the Asian-themed salad bar.
Lackmann will have television monitors hung soon that will offer better graphics, menus, specials and value meals.
The dining services renovated the Burlap’s coffee shop location in the Student Center atrium to introduce Pura Vida, a not-for-profit organization that offers organic, fair-trade coffee. Pura Vida offers donates proceeds to building schools and libraries and funding scholarships for children.
In place of Sbarro, Lackmann has signed with a popular West Coast franchise called Maui Tacos. The franchise is said to fuse the tastes of Mexico with a Hawaiian flair. “It is well-known that everything they do is of fresh quality with fresh ingredients,” said Eisa Shukran, director of Dining Services for the University. Maui Tacos will be located in the kiosk across from the bookstore.
Another fresh concept that Shukran is instituting is Pizza Exchange, a non-franchised pizzeria that allows students to create their own personal pan pizza. Pizza Exchnage will open on the opposite side of Maui Tacos in the kiosk. Both are under construction, but Shukran said they should both be up and running before the semester is over.
In addition, there was a coffee kiosk installed in the Law School as well as an upgrade to Breslin Hall’s dining facility, which will offer a wider selection.
About the changes, senior marketing major Jenna Klein said, “They’re better. In fact, they need to open up the kiosk quicker.”
Shukran said his biggest concern this semester was getting Dining Services to adopt environmentally friendly policies. “As a company we had certain initiatives and that was to do whatever we can to be green,” Shukran said. “It was a big move for us as a company and for the University.”
The all-vegetarian bar located near the home-cooked meals section in the Student Center was one stride. Shukran said Lackmann is trying to adopt more vegetarian concepts, because it seems to be the latest trend in nutrition.
Most of the Styrofoam containers previously found on campus are out of use, although Shukran said a complete shift to plastic is still in the works. The plastic containers are biodegradable and the napkins are made from unbleached paper. Also, Dining Services utilizes “reversed recycling,” or bottle returns.Plastic bottles are sorted from the general waste stream by Jamaica Ash, and then returned for recycling.
Offering china whenever available was another reform in the dining facilities. Students have the option of eating off reusable china dishes rather than one-use plastic containers. It is also mandatory that employees ask if students wants their food to go or stay. If the student is staying in the Cafe, food is served on a ceramic plate.
Shukran said there is a big misconception about recycling at the University. He attributes the misconception to the University’s failure to use blue and green garbage cans to encourage students to sort their garbage. To curb the misconception, he plans on putting labels on the garbage cans indicating that the University does recycle. The University waste is collected by Jamaica Ash, which purportedly sorts the garbage and recycles what is appropriate.
In an added effort to go green, Lackmann implemented a program to buy produce from local vendors. “We deal with local vendors rather than buying produce and products from out-of-state or out-of-country,” Shukran said. “This would also reduce some of the emissions that it would take to transport the products.”
The Progressive Students Union recently targeted University dining facilities in an effort to increase environmentally-friendly practices. Shukran said Lackmann kept student concerns in mind to an extent when planning the changes. “This isn’t only a campus concern though,” he said. “It’s a global issue.”
The most notable initiative that Lackmann participated in with student organizations was two years ago when Dining Services partnered with the Student Organization for Animal Rights during Earth Day to promote environmental awareness and the use of ceramic plates.
However, Shukran said one of the goals for this semester is to communicate more with the student community and working with student groups to promote going green. He wants to introduce comment boards in each dining facility so that students can leave feedback. Students would then receive a response that would be displayed on the wall near the board.
Steps toward healthy eating initiatives have been a major concern in the dining service changes. There are nutritional labels and ingredient information on all packaged food, and a nutritionist is available for one-on-one consultation with students. Candy and junk food were replaced with health and protein bars and baked chips; healthier options such as whole-wheat wraps, bagels, pastas and brown rice are also offered.
“There is progression so that nobody gets bored,” he said. “I think we’ve come a long way and we still have a lot of things to do.”

Maui Tacos, a franchise from the west coast, will open by the end of the semester in the kiosk across from the bookstore. (Stephen Cooney)