With the closing of the McShane Marketplace, the main dining location on the Rose Hill campus, comes “Destination Dining,” which consists of a series of six pop-up “all you care to eat” dining locations in place of the main cafeteria.
In March, it was announced that the McShane Marketplace would close for renovations for the 2023-24 academic year. The dining hall officially closed its doors with a farewell dinner on Oct. 5, with students signing the walls of the old cafeteria and having their last meals with friends. The menu consisted of meals from different decades dating back to the dining hall’s opening in the 1950s.
“I love that we got to sign the walls to show that a piece of us remains, in a sense,” said Agostino Facciolo, GSB ’27. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the new cafeteria will look like as she is entering her revamped era, but I enjoy second-floor McShane a lot. I feel like there is more space and it isn’t as loud – there’s more of a calm vibe to it.”
Marketplace II on the second floor of the McShane Campus Center, as well as a temporary dining hall in Bepler Commons, serve the same food as seen in the Marketplace, being the closest substitute to the cafeteria while it undergoes renovations.
On Oct. 10, President Tania Tetlow did a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the second-floor Marketplace to mark the beginning of renovations and the opening of the temporary dining hall.
“The renovation of the Marketplace on the first floor of the Campus Center is the last stage of the Campus Center renovation,” said Deming Yaun, the university dining contract liaison.
The renovations consist of transforming the Marketplace into a space intermixed with food stations and seating rather than having the food and seating separate. The renovations are expected to be completed in August.
“Bepler is not very good and has a very weird atmosphere and is very out of the way unless you are a freshman,” said Seneca Ward-Bailey, FCRH ’26.
“Second-floor McShane is a good replacement for the cafeteria, but it is always much quieter than the cafeteria ever was, which I personally like, but some people might not like that.”
In addition to Marketplace II and Bepler Commons, Bronx Bagel Co. in Dagger John’s, the Grab ‘n Go in McShane and two coffee carts also serve as temporary dining options for students. All of these options work with a meal plan, cash or credit card and have options to cater to dietary restrictions, according to Yaun.
An on-campus food truck will arrive soon – called CHOMP – according to Yaun. Updates on its opening can be found on Ram Dining’s Instagram: @ramdining.
“At the second floor McShane cafeteria, I find that a lot of the options and foods remain the same [as the Marketplace], but I do miss being able to serve some of the food myself at the cafeteria,” said Madison Gakopoulos, FCRH ’25.
Some students have expressed interest in extending the dining hall hours, as well as having Bepler Commons open on weekends since it is only open Monday-Thursday.
“I wish [the temporary dining halls] were open longer, especially during the evenings and weekend mornings,” said Cate Dalton, FCRH ’27. “Lots of people want to eat after 7:00 or 8:00 at night. McShane also has lots of breakfast options, but sometimes on the weekends I have activities before 10:00, which is when they open.”
