Students heading to lunch after Feb. 17 may notice something missing: the cafeteria kitchen. As renovations force the closure of on-campus food preparation, the school will rely on outside restaurants such as Domino’s and Subway to serve meals while construction continues through the end of the school year.
“It’s just companies that I’ve worked with in the past,” cafeteria manager Brenda Vardell said. “I’ve worked with Chick-fil-A, Dominos, so we know them, and we know they’re going to be able to get here on time.”
The lunch menu will consist of a rotating selection of Dominos, Subway, Chick-Fil-A and Goff’s Burgers, along with the Market line that is currently open.
“Along with the catered food, we’re actually having to go off campus to the Clements Center to use that kitchen to prepare a few things for the Market and the lunch menu,” Vardell said.
While partnerships with outside vendors will help keep lunch service running smoothly, students can also expect noticeable changes to how food is served during construction.
“Where the serving lines are right now, that’s all going to be closed off,” Food Service Manager Maggie Graza said. “All the serving is going to happen inside the cafeteria area where the tables are. So you’re going to see a different setup there.”
Although the partnerships ensure students will still have access to lunch, the switch to catered meals means fewer menu choices than students are typically offered.
“The menu is small. Students are going to have a rotation of food from restaurants and the market will still be open,” Vardell said.
Beyond changes to lunch service, students may also notice disruptions throughout the school day as construction continues in and around the cafeteria.
“There might be some noise, but it’s not going to be any different than any other kind of construction that was going on in the building,” Assistant Principal Troy Gray said.
Despite efforts to minimize disruption from construction noise, changes to the cafeteria layout have created new challenges for lunchtime operations. With food lines moving into the main dining area and reducing available seating, administrators have introduced temporary off-campus lunch privileges for juniors.
“We’re going to have to move the lines out into the actual cafeteria area, and so then that limits the number of seats that we have available for students,” Gray said. “I could see students coming back late saying, ‘oh my goodness, I was late because of traffic,’ or ‘I was late because of the food.’ That’s still not going to count.”
The renovations extend beyond the kitchen and lunch lines, with sections of the cafeteria seating area also receiving significant updates. The last major renovation took place in 2001, making the project more than two decades overdue. The changes will help bring the cafeteria and kitchen up to current building code standards.
“After construction, it’s going to still have the same amount of seats. The tables are going to be new, and the chairs. It’s going to look really pretty,” Vardell said.
While construction may temporarily disrupt daily routines, school officials believe the changes will ultimately improve both efficiency and comfort for students and staff, creating a more updated cafeteria environment for future classes.
“It’s going to be a lot more efficient. I’m just looking at what’s going to be, how it’s going to look at the end. I think people are going to be very happy with what’s coming,” Graza said.
