Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Dining Hall opened for a few days this week so that members of the community could experience what the new venue has to offer. Located adjacent to the North Avenue apartments, the dining hall will officially open when school starts in the fall to all students, faculty and guests with a Grand Opening event on August 31.

The 20,000 square-foot facility can seat up to 325 guests at a time and will staff 10 chefs and culinarians in the fall. During the “soft” opening from June 19-24, an average of 600 meals were served each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, a Housing Team Day was hosted there on Tuesday during lunch.

Being the first dining hall that Georgia Tech Dining has been able to design and build itself, the North Avenue Dining Hall has a truly unique and contemporary presence on campus.  From the extensive glass windows that provide ample light for diners, this new venue is not only modern in design and operation, it was also built to LEED Gold Certifications, reflecting the institute’s commitment to efficiency and sustainability.  In the fall, the dining hall will be open 24 hours a day on weekdays, making it the first 24-hour dining hall on campus.  All meal plans, Buzzfunds, and major credit cards will be accepted.

During the “soft” opening this week, diners were greeted by the enthusiastic staff and chefs who were eager to provide a glimpse into the long-awaited dining hall. Visitors sampled just a few of the wide variety of stations from which to choose such as the Grill featuring burgers and curly fries as well as other classic options to the Pizza and Pasta section. All of the stations have pre-made food selections such as deli sandwiches, which second year student Lani Barry exclaimed are “to die for.” In addition, chefs at almost all the stations can prepare something to order. Several other choices like the World Fare, Wok, and Pho that offer a variety of international cuisines will also be available in the fall. An additional feature enables students to suggest recipes online.

Students were excited about the North Avenue Dining Hall and were impressed with the state-of-the-art look from the building itself down to the square dishes. “I love the new plates. You can fit more on them,” noted second year student Tikurete Gebremariam, “but I also like the clean, bright layout of the entire place.” The presence and quality of the new facility has some students re-thinking their meal plan options for the fall. Second year student Samantha Habacker, who was not intending to purchase a meal plant in the fall, said, “I might have to get the Social 75 just so I can come here more often.”

Even the staff and chefs at the new venue were eager to showcase the newest addition to the dining facilities. “I am excited about bringing to the students, faculty, and staff and to the Georgia Tech family a unique, state-of-the-art dining experience,” said Andy Gaudiano, Operations Manager for the new dining hall on Wednesday.

The North Avenue Dining Hall will be open again later this summer from July 11 to 15, so be sure if you are on or around campus this summer to come experience this new facility.

Written by Georgia Tech Communication & Marketing Student Media Member Katie McGuire

Photos by Georgia Tech Communications & Marketing Student Media Member Ayesha Patel