Geneseo’s Campus Auxiliary Services will be changing its dining halls and its point of sale system in order to provide a more welcoming and safer environment as well as more efficient customer service to the college community. Red Jacket dining hall will go through significant renovations, which is expected to be completed by Fall 2018. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)
Campus Auxiliary Services will be implementing a variety of changes over the next few years in the hope of better serving students’ dietary needs at Geneseo.
At the forefront of these changes is the large-scale renovation of the Red Jacket Dining Complex. Executive Director of CAS Mark Scott said that the updated facility will feature a pay-one-price dining option downstairs and a mini mart upstairs, similar to Max Market and Food
Unlike Letchworth, however, a lounge area will be added to the upstairs area of Red Jacket. The area will provide Southside residents with a location to relax and study, and will feature resources including printers and white boards.
“We found through multiple focus groups and conversations with the Southside community that they really lacked a space of their own,” CAS Marketing Manager Becky Stewart said. “We would like to provide a space that creates a sense of community, as well as better meals and menus that allow for greater satisfaction from students.”
In addition, the renovation will allow for much needed improvements to the structure itself, which had become unsafe for the people that worked there and for student customers, according to Scott. The new building will also be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, with elevators and larger restrooms, including one gender neutral bathroom.
Various students are excited about these upcoming innovations to Southside’s dining options.
“Those are some very cool changes,” childhood and special education major sophomore Kaylan Ruiz said. “It’s nice to know that there will be something nice for the freshmen there.”
Communication major sophomore Josephine Kwan described the old building as dark and uninviting, a sentiment Scott agrees with and hopes to change with the renovation.
“When it opens, Red Jacket Dining Complex will be much brighter, much more inviting and more cohesive,” Stewart said.
Substantial completion is expected to be around spring of 2018, with training occurring over the summer to prep for full service in the fall of 2018.
Following the remodeling of Red Jacket, CAS will look to revamp Books and Bytes. Specific plans are not known at this time, but overarching objectives include improving speed of service, traffic flow and the quality and variety of goods offered.
CAS is also hoping to renew their contract with Starbucks, which ends in four years.
Furthermore, CAS is planning to introduce a new point of sale system that will aim to expedite credit card processing across the restaurants and cafés on campus. The system will also feature a brand-new way for students to access food on campus with mobile ordering.
“We know faculty, students and other stakeholders have limited time to get from class to class and don’t want to spend all this time waiting in line,” Scott said, “So we hope mobile ordering will help speed up lines and make coming into our facility more attractive for people who have limited time for a meal.”
Logistics behind the system—such as capacity issues, pick up locations and items available for pick up—are still being worked out. CAS plans to launch the new system in 2018.
CAS is proud to be able to provide such a large variety of foods to students and that they can employ nearly 400 of those students, Scott said. Furthermore, he affirms that CAS is as committed as ever to raising the bar..
“We don’t settle on our laurels,” Scott said. “We try to do everything we possibly can to do better and be better every day."