The McShane Campus Center Marketplace will officially stop operations on Friday, Oct. 6. During the weekend, there will be a transition upstairs into the McShane Campus Center Ballroom, and it will reopen on Tuesday, Oct. 10 as an “all you care to eat” location.
Bepler Commons — the second “all you care to eat” location that is replacing the Marketplace — will open on Tuesday, Sept. 19, and it will be open during the transition of the McShane Campus Center dining location.
To commemorate the last meal served in the Marketplace since 1960, there will be a closing celebration on Oct. 5, said Deming Yaun, the dining services contract liaison.
Yaun explained that other options will be added during the construction of the Marketplace, including a food truck, two coffee carts and a snack cart.
“The food truck is going to offer a wide variety of menus. It’s really a small kitchen on the back of a truck. It’s one of the biggest food trucks we could find, so we can have as much flexibility as we want with it,” said Yaun.
The food truck — named CHOMP, like the sound of a ram eating — will open on Sept. 29 and will usually be in front of Finlay Hall.
The two coffee carts — Ram Roadega and Ram Central Station — will offer coffee and light foods, and the snack cart — Bronxie Bike — will be biked around campus with snacks for students. All of these options will work with a meal plan, cash or credit.
Another new addition to Fordham’s dining that is permanent is the new bagel shop — Bronx Bagel Co. — located in Dagger John’s and the Grab & Go located in the McShane Campus Center Gallery.
“The product line leans towards healthy,” Yaun said of the Grab & Go.
The items will include prepackaged meal items, Coca-Cola products and BKG Coffee — a Brooklyn-based coffee roasting company.
Yaun added that the changes to the Marketplace will not merely be cosmetic. The construction will strip the Marketplace to the beams, and instead of a separate food and sitting area like before, the construction will make it an intermixed area with food stations and seating. According to Yuan, construction is expected to be completed on Aug. 1.
Christian Joseph, FCRH ’25, is a meal plan holder, and said she is excited to see the changes to the Marketplace but not for the first-years.
“A new environment that’s bright and fresh could liven up the atmosphere of the space for students who enjoy eating at the dining hall,” Joseph said. “That being said, I think the timing of the renovations are ill fit to students’ best interests, especially freshman.
“On a campus with only one dining hall, it simply does not make sense to close the only establishment on campus that large groups of students can congregate and enjoy a meal together. Closing the marketplace for renovations at the beginning of the school year will be done to the detriment of the new students on campus who are trying to integrate into the student body’s social network at Fordham,” Joseph said.
James Serruto, FCRH ’24, Vice President of Dining and Facilities for United Student Government (USG), is working with dining services to ensure the students’ voices are heard during the construction process.
“We’re in constant communication. We’ve had several committee meetings over the summer,” said Serruto. “We encourage anybody who has a specific dietary restriction to communicate with the staff. If they need to have a special meal that particular day or they are confused on a certain item, we can have that clarified right away.”
Serruto also wants to change the reputation surrounding Fordham dining.
“Over the years, the dining services have held a particular reputation, but I’m looking to change that,” said Serruto. “I want students to have a voice in the long-term plan of the university where a lot of their tuition dollars are going to,” Serruto said.
