campus experience

Dining Services expands destination dining with Perry Place

The dining shops in Hitt Hall, collectively known as Perry Place, are slated to open in 2024, bringing new food options to the Blacksburg campus.

Eric Garner

4 Oct 2023

A shot of the outside construction of the new Hitt Hall

A shot of construction work on the outside of the new Hitt Hall. — The new Hitt Hall and the dining shops known as Perry Place become more of a reality every day as construction continues. Photo by Noah Alderman for Virginia Tech.

Coming to Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus as part of the construction underway at Hitt Hall is Perry Place, a 600-seat full-service multi-venue dining facility on two floors of the building’s west wing.

The approximately 100,000-square-foot building – with completion targeted for 2024 – will provide an expanded physical presence for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction and add critical dining and academic spaces to the region.

A photo of the new Hitt Hall under construction

An exterior wide shot of the new Hitt Hall under construction. — The 100,000-square-foot building will bring nine new dining shops to campus, called Perry Place. This exterior shot showcases some of the design elements from the outside. Photo by Noah Alderman for Virginia Tech.

New food and new innovations

Perry Place will host nine dining venues, with eight of them being new concepts for Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus such as Smoke, a BBQ smokehouse; AMP Coffee, a high-energy coffee shop; Fresh & Feta, a Mediterranean fusion shop; and Solarex Diner, an all-day breakfast diner. The newly dedicated dining space will provide plenty of seating for students to socialize and enjoy delicious meals in a comfortable, modern environment.

“We definitely want Perry Place to be a unique location and we are making the extra effort to make its offerings exceptional,” said Jeremiah Gardner, assistant director of Perry Place. “It is going to be beautiful, and energy will radiate throughout the space. I do not think anyone will come in here and not be able to find something to eat and that is what will be so great about Perry Place.”

Each menu for Perry Place's dining shops has been carefully thought out, researched, and curated to focus on a variety of new, delicious gourmet-style choices. For example, chefs and Dining Services' leadership went on a national barbecue tour, visiting various restaurants to find the best recipes for Smoke.

An interior shot, showcasing a portion of the building. This building will become the second dining center on the academic side of campus, giving students even more options.

Construction workers go about their day, diligently creating the new building. — An interior shot, showcasing a portion of the building. This building will become the second dining center on the academic side of campus, giving students even more options for meals. Photo by Noah Alderman for Virginia Tech.

More convenient dining options for more students

The opening of Hitt Hall and Perry Place will add a second building with dining facilities to the academic side of the Blacksburg campus. The Multi-Modal Transit Facility is being constructed nearby, giving off-campus students easy access to food when arriving or leaving campus.

“Perry Place will be much more convenient for off-campus students,” said Gardner. “It’ll be much easier for them to grab food quickly as they get right off the bus.”

Construction on Perry Place continues with a projected opening in Spring of 2024. Follow along at dining.vt.edu for more information.