PLYMOUTH, N.H.-Returning students this year have come back to a newly renovated Prospect Dining Hall. According to Chris Mongeon, Manager of Prospect, the reasons behind the drastic improvements were rooted in the building needs for major utility upgrades and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The building also had to meet the growing number of students with a greater seating capacity. “It was funded by the HEFA program,” said Mongeon.
The Higher Education Finance Association (HEFA) issues bonds to non-profit institutions and is the main bond issuing company that the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) deals with. The funding to pay the bond back is generated through the money students pay for meal plans.
Throughout last year, Prospect had a construction theme where the employees wore hard hats and neon orange vests to compliment all the visible construction happening around the dining hall. This year, now that the construction is complete, employees wear chef hats and uniforms, but that is not the most noticeable change at Prospect.
First, there is a new entrance an open lobby area with floor to ceiling windows facing High Street. This new lobby is a more elegant entrance-versus last years stairway-and now there is a ramp for the handicapped. The card-swiping desk is now permanent and more official looking, and there is now indoor greenery for students to appreciate as they wait in line.
In the service area-where the food is-the layout is now much more convenient, and the general presentation is classier. Students no longer have to take their burgers out of a greasy pan. Now they come already in a bun, with fries, in a basket. The salad bar is now in a better location, as well as the desert table and the breakfast area.
Food-wise there seems to have been an improvement as well. Vegetables at the salad bar are green and fresh most of the time, fries are crispy all the time, and the entrée’s have a more home-cooked quality to them. The pizza remains the same, but there is a wider selection of toppings available. Mongeon gives more detail about the changes in food preparation. “We’ve adjusted the menu to do more cook to order items, more preparing in front of people. Also we’ve added a few things: a second vegetarian entrée, rotisserie chicken cooked to order in front of people; just trying to bring a lot more of the service upstairs to the students.” Also included in the improvements are individualized grill services, an expanded deli selection, expanded hotline choices, and smaller batch cooking for fresher foods.
The dining area has been expanded and fully renovated, featuring new carpets, seats, and tables. The atmosphere is brighter, and the new rooms add some variety. Mongeon explains his opinion on the final product. “I think the building turned out nice. Obviously there’s always something you see after the fact and you’re like ‘I wish I would have done this,’ but, with what we had to work with, it turned out great.”
Mongeon explains the student feedback in response to the renovations, “has been great. The ones that were here last year come back and they’re like ‘Oh wow, this is kinda nice.’ The new students are like ‘Eh, it’s a dining hall,’ because they’ve got nothing to compare it to. Everything’s out of context to them, but if you’ve eaten here last year to this year, it’s a whole world of difference.”