This semester students, faculty and staff have started off the fall semester with numerous changes in the dining halls and retail food operations. A new retail dining option, South East Asian (S.E.A.) Dinette by Sushi Maru, will exclusively operate the space in McCullough Student Center previously occupied by Wilson Café. The Grille also shifted its hours to accommodate the need for late-night food options and a new meal plan for faculty and staff was added.
John Maru, the founder and chef behind Sushi Maru, explained that the new space will offer a variety of hot and cold menu items including ramen noodle soup, pho noodle soup, biryani, fried egg noodles, bao buns, fruit juices and more. Maru hopes to include signature dishes from many Southeast Asian countries, a shift from Wilson Cafe’s previous fare of bagel sandwiches and coffee.
Maru expects to operate S.E.A. Dinette in McCullough as long as it is supported by the community. With this new venture, he hopes to serve students, staff and faculty more broadly on campus and in Addison County.
“What I’m always trying to figure out is how I can serve the students more broadly on campus with my food,” Maru wrote in an email to The Campus. “I like serving people, and food was the only easy way for me to serve them.”
The Dinette opened on Monday, Sept. 9, and will be open seven days a week. Customers can pay with declining balance, cash or card, but cannot use meal swipes.
The Grille will also see some changes this year, modifying its open hours in response to patterns of student activity. It will now be open from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, whereas last year it was open Tuesday through Saturday.
Evening Service Manager for Restaurants and Retail Jen DelMonte instituted this change after observing consistently low turnout on Tuesdays and Sunday night rushes at Midd Xpress that demonstrated the need for late-night food options on Sundays. To accommodate for The Grille’s closure at 8:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, S.E.A. Dinette will stay open until 10:00 p.m. on those days.
DelMonte expressed her desire to make The Grille a comforting and welcoming space for students.
“I am really trying to cultivate a late night vibe at The Grille for all the students to know that you’re welcome. Come and hang out. My staff and myself really really love the students and doing what we do,” DelMonte told The Campus.
Students can look forward to new events and promotions in The Grille, including screenings of NFL games on Thursdays and Sundays, which will feature special menu items like wings.
Due to popular demand, buffalo chicken egg rolls have returned to the menu for Wednesday nights only, as well as new items like New York-style pizza, made fresh in stone pizza ovens.
DelMonte also handles marketing for the Retail Operations wing of Dining Services, and encourages students to follow Middlebury Dining’s Instagram to get updates about events and promotions. The Grille is almost fully staffed, and DelMonte says they are excited about students’ return to campus.
In addition to changes at the Grille, a new meal plan for faculty and staff will begin Sept. 20. The plan offers three options with varied amounts of meal swipes and declining balance. Like the student dining plan, faculty and staff will use their Middlebury ID cards to swipe into dining halls and spend declining balance. Participants pay for their meal plan through payroll deductions all at once or in installments.
A similar meal plan was available to faculty and staff before Covid-19, and Executive Director of Food Service Operations Dan Detora is excited to bring the program back.
In an email to The Campus, Detora noted enthusiasm from faculty and staff about the revamped meal plan.
“So far the faculty and staff that I have spoken with have been very grateful and are excited about the meal plans,” Detora wrote.
This plan will not only provide faculty and staff with more on-campus lunch options, but will also offer an opportunity to participate in a part of campus life that is integral to students.
In an email to faculty and staff on Aug. 20, Detora highlighted the importance of collective engagement to the operational objectives of Dining Services.
“Our primary goal is to ensure we’re meeting the evolving needs of our students in support of our educational mission while continuing to provide essential opportunities for community connection among students, faculty, and staff based on volume and patterns of use at all our facilities,” Detora wrote.
