North Dakota State University (NDSU) hired Image Group Architects and PKC to assist the University with the renovation of the West Dining Center. This was a fairly dated facility that suffered from customer throughput and efficiency issues and the University wanted to renovate it to add more seating and more dining options. According to the NDSU dining team, the overall goals of this project were to increase menu variety and selection, boost customer satisfaction, increase seating capacity, grow meal plan participation and revenues, and update foodservice equipment and overall ambiance of this venue.
Concurrent to this project, the University and Image Group hired PKC to create a campus-wide dining services master plan that helped inform the programming and redesign of the West Dining Center ensuring that this renovation was aligned with the campus-wide dining program and that the University offers the type of service and meal plans that helps ensure student success and engagement.
As part of this effort, PKC’s Management Advisory Services team, led by PKC President and CEO David Porter, FCSI, spent two days on campus in April 2018 to interview stakeholders regarding the role campus dining can and should play at NDSU and stakeholders’ dining preferences and what they perceive as the strengths and weaknesses of the current dining program. This qualitative market research was followed up with a customized web-based survey which informed our recommendations to the University regarding meal plans, hours of operation, menu variety, value-added services and more.
The 12,000 SF, 550 seat remodeled facility will feature more variety, freshness and quality of food offerings to include an International Cuisine station, Bakery, Stone Hearth Oven, Smoothies, Homestyle Classics, Do it Yourself Grill, Salad/Panini/Deli, Action Stations, a fireplace with soft-seating and charging stations. It opened in Fall 2019.
