Renovated Harrison expects to surprise and amaze students

By Angela Archunde
COPY EDITOR

Say goodbye to the cafeteria line! Harrison Dining Hall has a new edge. The new dining hall is expected to give more choices along with comfort and style. Feel like Mediterranean? Or how about a classic American burger? The new Harrison is sure to fulfill the need of every craving.

By Angela Archunde COPY EDITOR The re-opening of Harrison is expected to be announced in the next two weeks. These photos show the current construction progress of Harrison's interior.

“The newly renovated Harrison Dining Hall is much more open in design with several dining stations replacing the two traditional straight-line food counters,” Marketing Director for Brockport Auxiliary Service Corporation, Anna Hintz said. “These distinct food stations range from Mediterranean to international to American/regional cuisine, and each will feature its own theme and menu selections.”

As shown in the design plans, Harrison will also have a deli for freshly made wraps and sandwiches. Whereas display cooking was offered as a treat last year, the new dining hall will allow interactions with the foodservice professionals every day. Each counter allows you to interact and see the cooking happening before you with many made-to-order entrees.

The salad bar and drink stations are all on one side, separating itself from the eating area. The former locations for the salad bar and drink stations were on the same side as the eating area making it uncomfortable to walk around tables just to refill your soda. The newly renovated Harrison separates the food from the people, while still providing easy access points from one to the other.

Dining Service Director of BASC, Gary Stevens said the seating should be approximately the same, but they won’t know until the tables are officially laid out.

The majority of the Harrison renovation construction began May 5, 2007. It is expected to open sometime in October said Hintz and Stevens. The cost of the renovations is $6.5 million total. The project money was funded by BASC, the campus and the State University Capital Funds.

The idea for renovation originally came from BASC Hintz said. Not only was Harrison built in the 1960s, like many of the buildings on campus, it was in need of code compliance improvements and upgrading the building systems, including energy conservation and efficiency upgrades Hintz said.

“BASC Dining Services is committed to providing the best in campus dining and that includes keeping our facilities updated and refreshed,” Hintz said. “BASC first approached the campus regarding the Harrison renovation because we wanted to enhance the dining experience in our largest dining hall for our students. As a result of this common goal, we’ve been able to work together to make it happen.”

Hintz expressed tremendous excitement for herself and BASC about this renovation project, and said she believes that students are really going to be happy with the results in the long run.

The re-opening of Harrison is expected to be announced within the next two weeks. The schedule is being worked out for the transition from the Ballroom (temporary dining) in the Seymour College Union to Harrison. A grand reopening celebration for the campus community in November is being planned Hintz said.

“We appreciate students’ patience throughout this project,” Hintz said. “The good news is that for the students who endured the renovation disruption this semester, they will get to reap the benefits of the new Harrison Dining Hall for their remaining years at SUNY Brockport.”