Renovation brings fresh, ‘green’ focus to university campus restaurant

Bluffton University is taking a fresh approach to dining services at its renovated campus eatery in Marbeck Center.

The Commons at Marbeck—renamed to reflect a shift in focus to a restaurant atmosphere—features freshly prepared vegetables and other food at six “dining destinations” that together provide a varied menu.

The Commons is also going “green,” both as a trayless facility—an effort to reduce food waste and water usage—and by introducing Aspretto, a fair trade-based coffee and tea brand by Sodexo, the company that manages Bluffton’s dining services.

The changes will help meet student expectations, including their desire for more fresh food preparation and, with that, healthier choices, says Mark Bourassa, director of Marbeck Center. The salad bar now has more variety, and hot vegetables will be cooked right in front of customers. “The idea is more fresh produce more often,” Bourassa says, noting that students will have “option of making more healthy choices.”

“It just brings us to an updated format that allows us to give our students what they want,” adds Peter Cleveland, general manager of dining services.

Now open continuously from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, the campus restaurant includes, as its “dining destinations,” Swinging Bridge Pizza; College Avenue Pasta; the Corner Deli; Riley Creek Grille, with hamburgers, grilled chicken and specialty sandwiches; Main Street Bistro, with carved meat and other traditional fare plus vegan/vegetarian options; and Red Hot Chef, an “action-oriented station,” says Cleveland, that offers stir-fry, pasta dishes and other items heated on an induction cooker.

“Students can get a full meal at those destinations,” Bourassa says, pointing out that Red Hot Chef was first presented several years ago, and its “demonstration cooking” proved popular with students. “Nothing should be a mystery; everything’s being prepared out front.”

The Commons, which feeds about 800 people a day, is extending “Trayless Tuesdays” of the last two years with its move away from trays in general.

Less food was going into the trash on those Tuesdays, creating the belief that diners were taking less when they had to carry it in their hands, Bourassa points out. While trays will still be available if needed, he says, the hope is that lessening their use will help conserve both food and, from not having to wash so many trays, water.

The other notable “green” initiative, Aspretto is 100-percent fair-trade coffee and tea, as is the sugar that goes with it, Bourassa says. In addition, wrappers and other related paper products, and even stir sticks, are made from recycled material. “We are one of Sodexo’s first clients to be using it,” he adds about the brand.