Liberty Dining Services adds express line to Garbanzo

 Liberty Dining Services upgraded Garbanzo, the Mediterranean dining option in the Montview Student Union, with an express line to make lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. more efficient and accessible for students. District Manager of Sodexo Duke Davis said the first trial of the express round allowed an extra 300 students to dine at Garbanzo in just one day. 

Improving the Liberty dining experience is the top priority for Liberty Dining Services. The express line allows more students to have their first choice for lunch without as long of a wait. 

“We are passionate about bringing change to the students, and the students appreciate it,” Davis said. 

Atang Agwe| Liberty Champion
SERVING — Garbanzo has been a staple in the Montview Student Union since the building opened in 2016.

 On-campus student Eliza Cody was impressed with the speed of her first visit to the express line. 

“The new express line was awesome,” Cody said. “The staff was kind but effective, and they helped me get my food quickly.” 

Liberty Dining Services representatives attend resident assistant meetings, Student Government Association town hall meetings and focus groups to understand what students want. All of the dining locations in the Montview Student Union came from student input because student feedback is what pushes them to improve. 

“Everything we’ve done here has been the direct result of students,” Davis said. “Our success is built off of students and their surveys and our staff.” 

Davis and Liberty Dining Services always strive to bring students the best college dining experience. The senior management team meets bi-weekly to discuss the future steps of how they can make Liberty dining better. 

“We as a team do not want to be complacent,” Davis said. “We are always striving for the next big splash.” 

Ryan Wheeler, the unit marketing specialist for Sodexo, said the senior team often travels to other universities and trade shows to further perfect their craft and implement the best ideas for Liberty University. 

“There is a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes to see how we can continue to push ourselves,” Wheeler said. 

Liberty placed in the top five for Daily Meal’s 2018 ranking for “Best Colleges for Food,” and enjoys the distinction of being one of the best college dining halls in the nation. 

“We like to be number one,” Davis said. “We like to set the trends on the market. We want other people to come visit us and see what we’re doing.” 

A c c o r d ing to Liberty Dining Services, the orgnization’s “student focused” approach is what makes Liberty stand out in dining services. Wheeler said Liberty seeks to accommodate for every student’s dietary needs, regardless of dietary restrictions. 

Allison Heise | Liberty Champion LUNCH TIME — Students can now order from Garbanzo faster.

“We try to meet every student where they’re at and provide a meal for them because if you have good nutrients and good meals, you study, you get better grades and you work harder,” Wheeler said. 

Davis said out of the seven colleges he has worked at, the students make Liberty stand out from the rest. He says the students motivate the Sodexo team and him to continue to strive for the best. 

“I’ve never worked at a university where the students are as engaging, appreciative and easy to be around,” Davis said. 

Students at Liberty take the time to show appreciation to dining hall workers and give “thank you” notes to the dishwashers. Gestures like these go a long way and make a lasting impression. 

Davis has been with Liberty dining for five years and promised that there are even more upgrades for Liberty Dining coming soon. 

“We are looking at other dining options to bring on campus,” Davis said. “We have some exciting changes and some potentially new additions to campus next year, projects that we will be attacking in the summertime.” 

Liberty keeps dining services interesting by offering variety in the menu and specialty events. Some upcoming events are speed dating and free flowers at the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall Feb. 12, a cheesecake event in the Tilley Student Center Feb. 13 and the yearly international-themed dinner. 

“A lot of students do not have the opportunity to travel the world and see different things, so we bring that to them,” Wheeler said. “We want students to walk into the dining hall and feel like they’re transformed into that place, like how you would be at Epcot.” 

To find out what’s around the corner for Liberty dining, follow their Facebook page, www. facebook.com/LibertyDining for updates. 

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