On Monday, May 12, 2025, Union’s Dean of Students Office emailed the campus community to announce several major dining changes beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year. The most significant changes are the closure of West Dining Hall and updated meal plans. Several other dining locations, like Rathskeller and Dutch Hollow, will see expanded options.
The redesigned meal plan options have more meal swipes and less declining balance. The new meal plans range from having 10 weekly swipes to unlimited swipes, and no declining balance to $450 in declining balance.
“The most economical option for students is to use a meal swipe, and the second most economical option is to use a meal swipe as an equivalency at another venue,” Annette Diorio, the Dean of Students, explained about the decision to remodel the meal plans. “If you’re using declining when going into the dining hall, you’re paying at least $2 more for that meal than you would using your meal plan. We’re also adding more options for students to use the meal swipes to get a meal outside the dining hall.”
The college also decided to eliminate one of the meal plan options, which had 30 meal swipes per term and $750 in declining balance. Diorio said they eliminated this option because “ we would run into scenarios where students were no longer able to eat ‘cause they’ve used all their declining and meal swipes. Our primary concern is to be sure that students have some food security.”
Additionally, the college will permanently close West Dining Hall. The dining hall has been open since 1950, when the building was constructed and freshmen were required to eat five lunches and five dinners per week.
Matt Milless, the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, says multiple things factored into this decision. “The historical piece is that first-year students couldn’t access Reamer Dining Hall. We decided it didn’t feel right, so we allowed first-year students to eat at Reamer Dining Hall. Then, it was renovated, and we could add seats to accommodate more people. As a result, we continued to see Reamer become a very popular destination. I think that lowered the numbers at West.”
Milless expressed optimism with regard to what students can do with the space. “ I’m excited about the opportunity for the various different student groups to be able to access it for student programming,” he said. “ You can do anything from a comedian with a small stage, an acoustic guitarist, or trivia in there. I also think it’s a good space for studying during finals.”
The college is also expanding its seating capacity at Reamer Dining Hall to accommodate more students. On May 12, work began to convert the current dining offices into additional seating areas. “At Common Lunch, a significant portion of the community, including faculty, staff, and students, eat at the same time. The goal is to add around 80 seats, which should help alleviate that strain on the facility.” Milless explained.
The college will also expand hours and options at Rathskeller. In January 2025, it was converted to a Mediterranean lunch option similar to Cava, which has been popular among students. “They’re doing several hundred of those every day just at lunch,” Milless said.
Rathskeller will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this fall. Dinner options will be “Mediterranean-inspired flatbreads, lavash wraps, chicken kabobs and more,” according to an email from the Dean of Students. The breakfast menu will feature “convenient and delicious specialty coffee drinks and from-scratch breakfast sandwiches.”
Additionally, other dining options will see changes. Dutch Hollow will add food options: “noodle bowls, dumplings, and a wider selection of globally inspired entrees.” Reamer Bookstore will also add a grab-and-go food option, including hot, cold, and reheatable options. College Park Hall will also feature pop-up dining events in its dining facility, which will “feature local restaurants as well as names like Halal Shack and Insomnia Cookies.”
Finally, the email announced that they are working on returning mobile ordering as an option. Students can now order from Starbucks on the GET App, and Union is working on adding additional dining options to the mobile ordering system, Milless and Diorio told Concordiensis.
All of these changes will begin in fall 2025. Current dining options and meal plans, including operations at West, will remain the same until the end of the term.
