Many firsts await students at new Turner Place dining center
The new Turner Place dining center at Lavery Hall will open later this month and will feature many firsts not just for Virginia Tech, but also for the commonwealth and campus dining programs nationwide.
These new initiatives will also spell interesting job prospects for students and the community as Turner Place hires its staff
Director of Dining Services Ted Faulkner said two of the franchises located in the dining center, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Bruegger’s Bagels, are the first of either to appear on a college campus as university-run franchises. The Qdoba at Turner Place is also one of the largest Qdoba operations in the country, while Bruegger’s Bagels will have a walk-up window where students can place and pick up orders without ever entering the building.
Another Turner Place franchise, Jamba Juice, is the first and only Jamba Juice to operate in Virginia “in any capacity,” Faulkner said.
There are other facets of Turner Place that will provide a unique experience for Virginia Tech’s award-winning dining program and students, faculty, and staff, as well. Diners will be able to have a Japanese steakhouse-style lunch or dinner or order from a full-service sushi counter at the teppanyaki grill Origami, snack on fresh crêpes and gelato made on site at Dolci e Caffè, sit down to meats and vegetables grilled on a chargrill fueled entirely by wood at 1872 Fire Grill, and sip more than 100 different flavor combinations from a Coke Freestyle drink machine.
Aside from offering distinct new dining options, the staffing needs for the new dining center has created approximately 400 new jobs. Some are designated student positions, but many are open to the general public. To learn more about student employment, visit Dining Services’ student employment page. To learn more about salary and wage employment, visit the program’s general employment page.
Virginia Tech’s Dining Services, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs, is a nationally recognized dining program that is ranked as having the third best college food in the nation by the Princeton Review. Dining Services serves more than 6.3 million meals per year to more than 19,000 meal plan holders.
Written by Jennifer Gibson.
