VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University plans three days of festivities to launch its new Shafer Court Dining Center— a dining venue and gathering point at the heart of the campus that VCU officials believe reflects the urban university’s shift to a residential community.

A grand opening ceremony and dedication is set for Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. at the dining center, 810 Cathedral Place. VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D.; Paul Jez, VCU’s vice president for business services and treasurer; Stephen D. Gottfredson, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs; Henry Rhone, vice provost for student affairs; and Paul Timmreck, senior vice president for finance and administration will be in attendance. Activities will include entertainment, tours and menu sampling at the Market 810 restaurant.

Festivities continue Sept. 9, when the focus shifts toward the Compass Pointe Emporium, the dining center’s ground-level retail restaurant section. Customers will enjoy special discounts, prizes and contests. On Sept. 10, Shafer Court Dining Center will host a rally with VCU coaches and the VCU Dance team.

VCU in recent years has shed its image as a commuter campus, where students attended classes but returned home to different areas. Toward that end, the addition and expansion of residence halls and facilities like the new Shafer Court Dining Center allow students to more easily identify with and enjoy the advantages of campus life.

Brian Ohlinger, associate vice president for facilities management, said the university has focused a lot of attention on creating a sense of campus at the Monroe Park Campus site.

“This can be particularly difficult in an urban environment,” he said. “But with the standardization of street lighting, and with the improvements to the walkways, we are beginning to identify the campus.”

Paul Jez also said the design of the new building, along with the exterior areas for outdoor eating and seating, encourages students to gather and socialize at the dining center’s centralized campus location.

The new dining center serves both students and the greater university community. The first floor’s dining area seats more than 300 people, with room for about 50 in the faculty-and-staff dining room. Sixty additional seats will be provided seasonally for a covered, outdoor dining area, and café dining tables with umbrellas will be placed outdoors during favorable weather.

The Compass Pointe Emporium on the ground level includes grab-and-go or dine-in services, featuring local and national retail partners such as Sbarro, Richmond Grille, Vie de France, Biscotti’s and Market 810 2 Go. A production kitchen, catering department and offices for administrative and support services also are located on the first floor.

The dining center’s second floor, known as Market 810 named after the site’s address, seats about 800. A “marketplace” service offers six venues with self-serve beverage, dessert and cereal stations. Venues include Field of Greens, a salad bar; Sergeant Pepper’s, with vegetarian and vegan selections; Basil’s, with pizza and pasta; Fan Fare, featuring homestyle and comfort foods; Stir Crazy, offering Mongolian grill favorites; and Rams’ Grill, serving burgers and fries.

The $18 million dining center is part of $1 billion in university construction completed, under way or that has been authorized since Trani took the helm in 1990.

The total project budget for the new dining center was $18 million, funded through the revenue VCU’s Dining Services generates as an auxiliary program. Hanbury Evans Newill Vlattas of Norfolk, Va., was the project’s architectural firm, and ARAMARK Corp. continues as the dining center’s food service provider.

The former Hibbs Dining Center will be used for classroom or office space. For more information on grand opening events, visit www.bsv.vcu.edu/vcufood/SCDCGrandOpening.htm or www.bsv.vcu.edu/vcufood/.