Chick-fil-A is scheduled to open March 7 on campus, but hot food still is unavailable at The Market at Alvin’s.
Officials announced last April that they would replace Alvin’s Café with a Chick-fil-A. Students originally were told the Chick-fil-A would open in August 2017, but construction was delayed into spring.
Erin Wilson, design and production freshman, said she is skeptical about Chick-fil-A’s opening.
“It would be cool if it did,” Wilson said. “But I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Michelle Gaffney, assistant director of retail for Chartwells, said Chick-fil-A is set to open on schedule.
Chartwells is the university food service provider.
“The Chick-fil-A is definitely opening on March 7,” Gaffney said. “Whereas most campuses have the express, we’ll have the full menu with salads and wraps. Everything but breakfast.”
Gaffney said the full menu is good because the hot food option for The Market at Alvin’s is still pending.
When the full Market at Alvin’s was opened last November, Alvin’s employees said they would serve hot food, but that option never came to fruition.
“None of us who work there are aware that anything is happening as far as hot food at Alvin’s,” said McAlyn Forbes, acting junior and barista. “All we know is that Chick-fil-A is happening, which is supposed to be March 7.”
Students expressed frustration with the lack of hot food.
Adrianna DelPercio, acting sophomore, said she feels cheated because she changed her meal plan in hopes of getting hot food from Chick-fil-A and Alvin’s.
“They said they were going to have hot food, and I changed my meal plan over from Meal Plan C to Meal Plan F so I could have 400 points,” DelPercio said.
Jordan Kilgore, acting sophomore, said Chick-fil-A alone will not provide as many options as the old Alvin’s did.
“Last year, with old Alvin’s, we had two options for hot food, and one of them was open a lot more than the caf is. And now, we have one option for hot food and it’s opened a limited number of hours, but yet my meal plan still costs the same amount of money,” Kilgore said.
Gaffney said hot food was not part of the original plan for the full market, but since students want it, they are pushing for it.
She also said one of the issues is space, so officials are trying to figure out where they could put an oven that would not inconvenience employees or students.
Lysa Engle, film production junior, said she likes the market.
“I think it’s cool to have a huge variety of things to snack on and keep, but I do wish they still had sandwiches,” Engle said
Mackenzie Reitz, dance management junior, said the changes are positive.
“I think that, long-term, these improvements will aid future Stars. However, I think it caused disgruntled students,” she said.
Reitz also said the new Alvin’s isn’t a place to hang out anymore.
“I personally miss the plethora of outlets. Alvin’s isn’t really a homework hub anymore. It’s more of a stop-and-go place,” she said.
Julia Grubisic, music junior, said the market is fine but doesn’t have the same feel as the old Alvin’s, which was part of “OCU culture.”
“But food is food and drinks are drinks, and OCU is helping feed me no matter what it’s called, so I won’t complain,” she said.
The hours for The Market at Alvin’s are:
– 7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday,
– 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday,
– 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and
– 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday.
Leave a Reply