The Evolution of Dining Services
Tobey-Kendel was the first dining room on campus. Originally, Tobey-Kendel prepared and cooked all of the food and sent it to satellite dining rooms to be served. McCowen Dining Room was the second dining room to be opened. Many developments have changed McCowen Dining since it opened in 1963. Originally, the food was served “family style.” This means that all the students ate at the same time. The various entrees (usually two choices per meal) and other menu items were at each table. Each student received one serving of each item. The dining rooms did not have the choices that are now usually taken for granted, such as a variety of soda pop and ice cream, salad bars, and specialty bars.
In 1969, McCowen Dining Room changed to serving lines. There were four dining rooms on campus at this time: McCowen, Harrison (which opened in 1968), Tobey-Kendel, and Cross Hall which is no longer used as a dining room. Each of these dining rooms were serving large numbers of students. The selection was very limited and the atmosphere was somewhat institutional.
In 1975, dining rooms started to allow students to fill many of the positions in food services. The addition of student employees to the UNC work force benefited the University by increasing the amount of student involvement on campus and the potential increase in the number of students who could now afford a college education through work were among the benefits that were created. Students now have the chance to gain work experience involving their major or learn skills which can be applied in everyday situations, such as communication skills, time management, and knowing how to work well in groups.
There have been many innovations in Dining Services since 1980. An example is a focus on customer services. The results of this focus can be seen by the large number of menu choices available each meal. The level of food quality and attention to have healthy choices has increased. UNC Dining Services has also attempted to be flexible with students’ work schedules. With the various meal times at each dining room, meals are available 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day. If these times do not fit a particular student’s schedule, then sack lunches can be picked up when the student has time. “Gourmet to Go” meals are available to students during the breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal hours for those who need to “eat on the run.”
Currently, UNC Dining Services is providing food service to students and special summer camps. We were the summer home of the Denver Broncos Summer Training Camp for 21 years.