With an open floor plan, large windows and exposed wood beams, Pineywoods Dining Hall is set to open this month as the latest campus addition in SFA’s ongoing plans to renovate and enhance the campus
“Pineywoods Dining Hall will feature many exciting options that students can look forward to,” said Hilario Espinoza Gonzalez, marketing director at Chartwells Higher Education Dining, SFA’s dining partner.
“Inside the dining hall, an impressive rotisserie will churn out fresh roasted chickens that will be available on the serving line. Students can also purchase a whole chicken to take home,” he said. “Additionally, fresh tortillas will be made daily, and a beautifully crafted Italian pizza oven will bake pizzas in just 90 seconds. Lumberjacks can also buy personal pizzas to take home. For those looking for a sweet treat after a long day of classes, a soft serve machine will be available.”
Pineywoods Dining Hall will be home to some familiar items as well, the results of a series of 2021 focus groups conducted by Kirksey and Omniplan Architects. So, students can look forward to familiar staples found in Food Hall 1923 replicated in the new dining hall, but also new offerings. This includes Flame, Delicious Without and Rooted but also Kitchen 1923, with dishes that remind you of home, Pineywoods Pie Co., with Italian cuisine, and La Mesa, with Mexican-style offerings.
In addition to the roster of dining hall items, students can also look forward to a retail location that will be connected to the dining hall. With its walk-up windows, food offerings such as sandwiches and tenders plus salads, and later closing time, Absurd Bird will be a unique addition to the east side of campus.
“The primary goal of this dining hall is to provide all students on the east side of campus with delicious meals, fueling them for success. This is especially important as the east side hosts the largest number of freshman dorms,” said Espinoza Gonzalez. “We want to ensure that our Lumberjacks don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from, allowing them to focus on earning their degrees and excelling in their classes. We understand that a student’s first year on campus is both crucial and intimidating in their academic journey.”
With personal seating, long benches or barstools to watch the stations, the dining hall will offer a variety of options for a variety of student personalities. This will be in addition to a wall outlining the University’s century-long history and a wall for students to post“recipes that they cherished at home with the opportunity of three of them being selected to be cooked over the semester.”
Espinoza Gonzalez has been with Chartwells since February 2021, working his way up from student graphic design intern to marketing specialist/regional graphic designer and now marketing director. He said the process of marketing the new dining hall has been rewarding and challenging.
“I would love to add that my marketing team has been hard at work on graphics for a while now. Alumna Laney Wise, who was previously a graphics design intern for Lumberjack Eats at SFA, and is now the Marketing Director for Islander Dining at [Texas A&M Corpus Christi], created the foundation for the logo and brand identity of Pineywoods Dining Hall. I am currently leading the design effort alongside our amazing graphic design interns, who are current SFA students, KJ Gast and Cassandra Sarmiento,” Espinoza Gonzalez said. “As a fellow Lumberjack myself, I am very proud to say that this dining hall is not only designed for Lumberjacks but was also developed by both new and former Lumberjacks!”
Dining and Cooking