Subway makes a smash on campus

A  Subway eatery and a renovated Einstein Bros Bagels are among the campus dining upgrades in the works. 

Lindsay Shoemake | gcsunade.com

Students crowded into the Bobcat Food Court on Wednesday, April 11 for the opening of Subway. Various other eateries are slated to open in the Fall, depending on pending deals with restaurants.

Subway opened on Wednesday, April  11, with student enthusiasm creating long lines. The decision to exchange Subway for Blimpie came as a result of a student survey.

“We hope sales will increase as a response to students being pleased with Subway,” Kyle Cullars, assistant vice president of auxiliary services said.

Students should also be on the lookout for a change at Einstein’s. According to Brown, the university is waiting on approval through the Board of Regents in order to begin construction. Currently there is a design for the expansion and auxiliary services has fulfilled 90 percent of their requirements. Although there is not currently a start date for construction, once approved by the Board of Regents, Brown estimates there will be about 2.5 months of construction needed to complete the renovations to Einstein’s Bros Bagels.

Much like the decision to bring Subway to GC, deciding to expand Einstein’s came as a result of student opinion.

“Students, faculty and staff wanted more options through Einstein’s. Einstein’s will be able to offer more services, more of their menu and more options for lunch. We will be getting close to full service. There will also be more physical space,” Brown said.

Depending on the hours of operation, this expansion could potentially create more student employment opportunities.

“I have mixed feelings about the Blimpie being changed to a Subway. I like both restaurants, but now that Blimpie is gone there is no other in Milledgeville, and there were several items on the menu that Subway doesn’t have that I liked,” Emily Rivers, junior mass communication major said. “But in all reality, I didn’t eat at Blimpie very often, mostly because it took so much longer to get my food than Chick-fil-A,”

Rivers also sees the expansion of Einsteins as a positive.

“I think by expanding more students will want to come and stay at Einstein’s. It’s usually really quiet in that building, which is why I prefer to sit in there rather than at the Books and Brew in the library,” Rivers said.

Another campus restaurant that recently experienced major changes is Jittery Joe’s. The coffee shop was owned by an independent owner who elected not to renew his contract. The closing of the store opened up some options for auxiliary services. According to Cullars, options are currently being explored as to how to fill the space once occupied by Jittery Joe’s.

“We are trying to find what could work best now for students and the community,” Brown said.

There is also another eatery in the works.

“The next concept to come online will be an Asian fusion concept by the Bobcat Food Court called Mein Bowl,” Brown said.

However, there is not set schedule for the Mein Bowl to be on campus. Another possibility is the addition of Dominoes or Papa John located next to World of Wings — but the timeline for that project is also still in the works.

Currently, auxiliary services has many other ideas that they would like to implement, but many of these are just that, ideas.

All of the changes being made to the restaurants around campus are funded through auxiliary services as part of their retail operation. These renovations are not funded through student tuition or student fees.

Posted by Brennan Meagher on Apr 12 2012. Filed under Lead stories, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.