Grill to improve, not shut down

Grill 155 will be going through some changes this summer.

“First of all, we are not closing!” said Bill Garlend, general manager of the campus Chic-Fil-A said.

Many students have complained about the restaurant located on the bottom floor of MSU.

Grill 155 currently serves hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, fries and soft drinks in a cook-while-you-order fashion. The restaurant usually has two employees working during the lunch hour.

Management has taken student complaints into account, which will be one of the driving forces in making these changes.

“(We need) to make it more successful,” Garlend said. “Structurally, it’s not the best place.”

For example, many students do not know exactly what is inside Grill 155, since the lights are dim, and it is too cramped, Garland said.

According to Anssi Kiviranta, a Finnish International student, he wasn’t even aware of the existence of Grill 155 until recently.

“I’ve never eaten there. I didn’t even know what it was,” Kiviranta said. “If they put a menu on the window, I might go in there.”

Lenka Bernatova, an international student from the Ukraine, said she doesn’t eat at Grill 155 for similar reasons.

“I used to eat there,” Bernatova said. “It is not advertised that much. They need to put some stuff on the windows. It’s too claustrophobic as well.”

Garlend said some of the changes that will occur will enhance the atmosphere at Grill 155.

“We’re going to make it more inviting with lighting,” Garlend said. “We’re going to change the ambiance.”

Another common student complaint is the price of the food.

“The prices are too high. We need to do lower prices as well,” Garlend said. “We will find a way where you can get your sandwich, fries and soft drink for under $5.”

Also, complaints of unacceptable wait times have made many students decide not to eat at Grill 155; they would rather eat at other campus restaurants or in Sodexho. “We’re coming up with ideas to make the speed of service faster,” Garlend said.

Garland said that the restaurant would remain open as the changes take place despite speculation across campus that it would close. Perhaps the new changes, without closing the restaurant will result in satisfactory service at Grill 155.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 21 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry