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By ANGELA SHUFF
Before the addition of the new cafeteria, Biscotti's
Café, and the Towne Square—the new seating area
and office win(4—there was no room to socialize or
relax and do work. Students used to plunge into the
depths of the basement and eat in the Lion's Den,
which was tucked away from the rest of campus.
There is no doubt that the new cafeteria and town hall
have dramatically changed the dynamics of Penn
State Harrisburg.
Complaints about the food, prices, and layout of the
new addition are hard to come by. The new cafeteria
is approximately 18,000 square feet as compared to
5.000 square feet of the Lion's Den. It is obvious that
the bright open space is just what Penn State
Harrisburg, needed.
"I love it! I always run into all my friends when oth
erwise 1 wouldn't even know they were on campus at
this time:" Sarah Thompson, criminal justice, said.
Nancy Leister of the Student Activities Office,
received a brand new office, and she is enjoying it. "I
get to see a lot more people walking by and I think a
lot niore people stop in to see us since we have been
moval here.' Leister said.
loAnn Coleman, director of Housing and Food
Sre\ and Greg Schiavoni, assistant director, vis
ited Trade shops, restaurants, coffee shops and other
L'innpuses. in order to get a feel for how other plans
, A (irked and to get ideas for the Harrisburg campus. "I
h) Ann and 1 visited every coffee shop between
here and Pittsburtzh, - Schiavoni said.
Coleman and Schiavoni worked with architect Bob
Cro%;ner, who is known for his expertise in renova
tions and for the designing of "Brunos" on the Penn
State Behrend campus. Since the project was a reno
vation of the old library, there was only so much
space to work with. The three years of planning took
a team effort, which also involved the director and
project manager at University Park.
What fulfilled their vision was a modern, clean space
with an eclectic touch. "We wanted something that
didn't scream institution," Schiavoni said. Holding
focus groups with students helped them discern what
types of foods the students would like and what kind
of atmosphere the students need
Even though tuition contin
ues to increase, this new addi-
tion is not to blame. Housing
and Food Services funded the
$2.2 million project from
room and board fees and sales
in their operations
Overall, sales have increased by 40 percent this year,
which Schiavoni said is a conservative figure. Only
serving foods that are in season and being careful of
waste enables Food Services to keep prices down.
Layout Editor
Students eat and study in the hallway adjacent to the foodcourt, which is
part of the Towne Square. The new area has around 300 seats.
Schiavoni draws from his experience managing restaurants, hotels, and traveling
all over Europe, and said in comparison, the prices in the cafeteria are balanced and
reasonable
However, customers are not unanimously in agreement. The reasonability to stu
dents varies with the line item and some would rather go off campus to catch a bite
to eat. Others seem content with what they are getting for the price. "This salad
is just about the same thing you can get at Applebee's, it is only $5 compared to $8
or $9," said J.J. Seasock, marketing.
The Food Services department is most proud of their brick-oven pizza pit, which
allows them to experiment with their own varieties of pizza,
such as the recent barbeque chicken pizza. However, there are
those who are not excited by the frills of gourmet pizza. "I
miss the Pizza Hut pizza they used to serve," Jeff Souders,
communication, said.
Items cooked over the open fire of the new charcoal grill are
the most popular among students, according to Schiavoni. The
new deli area features gourmet bread and fresh quiche every day. Each cooking
station will be undergoing improvements, one such addition that will be coming
soon is a carving station.
Schiavoni assured that all food is at its freshest when served. Cafeteria workers
cook in small batches to make sure no one is eating a chicken salad sandwich that
photo by Jennifer Kauffman