New Dining Options for Students on South Campus

Students living on Campus South now have new dining options, Campus Pastor Johnnie Moore announced in Monday morning’s Convocation.

There are two new food vendors for students to choose from. One vendor will house Liberty University Dining, said General Manager of Liberty University Dining Doug Pugh. The second food vendor will be for different sub-vendors, including Domino’s.

The vendors’ grand opening was Monday at 3 p.m. and will be open Monday through Friday with dining hours from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Both vendors can be found on the south side of Dorm 7 with a small seating area of picnic tables that seat about 15 people. They are in the place of the basketball courts.

The vendors take Flames Cash, as well as cash and credit. Liberty Dining’s vendor also takes meal points. The Director of Retail Operations at Liberty University Dining Jay Carpenter expects both to eventually take meal points. The pricing will remain consistent with the usual on-campus pricing, with items running between $3 and $6.

“What we’re trying to do is just provide the students with another option on the circle because right now all that’s over there is the Keyhole,” said Pugh. “Even though we’ve added a lot of new items to the menu over there to try to accommodate, it’s still not real convenient for some of the students living on other parts of the Circle.”

Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. has been aware of comments and requests concerning a lack of dining options on Campus South. He worked with the Director of Auxiliary Services Lee Beaumont to solve the problem. Beaumont contacted Liberty Dining about two weeks ago and the food vendors began moving towards a reality.

According to Falwell, adding more dining options for Campus South has been in discussion for over a year. There were plans to build a free standing dining hall before, but circumstances prevented it. The vendors are meant to be a temporary solution.

Food available at Liberty University Dining’s vendor will be an assortment of hot sandwiches, fries, drinks and various combos. The menu will change throughout the seasons and depending on vendors, Carpenter said.
“It will be more than just the convenience store options that are largely at the Keyhole,” Carpenter said.

Senior Jodiann Green lived on Campus East and the Hill before moving to Campus South. She has been less than impressed with the dining options on Campus South.

“There are not enough options,” Green said. “I like that they’re going to put up the trailors — it’s good food, it’s worth the meal points.”

Pugh welcomes all student comments or suggestions. Some of the best ideas and improvements on dining actually come from students and their input, Carpenter added. Students can e-mail comments or suggestions to libertydining.edu.

Hinckle is a news writer.